Harshini Brahmavar
Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)
Udupi, Oct 20: Karavali bypass junction flyover, which had turned out to be a traffic nightmare since the last three years for the road users, has reached final stages and will open for traffic on November 1. People were fed up by the agonisingly slow pace of seemingly endless work. People were worried about the dangers posed to their lives by the road, particularly during the monsoon season because of potholes and ditches dotting this road.
The flyover work on Karavali bypass, which is located at the prominent point where the roads to the city, Kundapur, Mangaluru and Kundapur join, had started in 2015. The monsoon was a setback for the subsequent installation of concrete boxes and mud filling. The flyover should have been ready by 2016 as per original plans. But Navayuga company which is executing the work, expressed its helplessness by saying that the work often was delayed due to non-cooperation by contractors and rain.
The road was hurriedly repaired with tar for a day during the visit of former president of India on June 18, 2017. The concerned later covered the road with stones to prevent danger. It was being removed every now and then for the sake of pedestrians and bicycle riders. It was a place of rest at night for drunkards and workers who had migrated from elsewhere. It also used to cause traffic blocks during breakdown of small vehicles as Karavali junction is located on national highway.
Kundapur assistant commissioner T Bhoobalan, who observed the slow pace of work here, had issued a notice to chief manager of Navayuga company. However the opening of this long-awaited flyover in the meanwhile under pressure has made the people glad.
The 300-metre Karavali bypass flyover has been constructed with mud and concrete. Tar and finishing touch have reached final stage and the work is progressing at brisk pace. Electric poles have been erected here. The diversion in between the highway is yet to be vacated to have a straight road.
As there is service road on either side of the flyover, local vehicle drivers drive vehicles there. Therefore there is a possibility of head-on collision between vehicles coming from under pass and service road. Rain water drains are required to prevent water from flowing on the road, said social worker Vishnu Shetty Ambalapadi. Dividers are erected for two way traffic. An underpass is made for vehicles plying between Udupi and Malpe.
The flyover will help in free flow of traffic from Kundapur to Mangaluru and vice versa. People who were waiting for it since 2015 have heaved a sigh of relief.