After Larsen & Toubro (L&T) stopped work on the four-laning of NH 75 from B C Road to Addahole, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) authorities have invited a fresh bid to take up the work.
According to information obtained under RTI from the NHAI by DH, the bidding for the work is in progress and the work is yet to be awarded to a contractor.
If everything had gone as planned, then the work on four-laning of the NH 75 would have been completed by September 2019. The foundation for the work was laid by Union Minister Nithin Gadkari at Panambur on March 28, 2017.
Initially, due to the descoping of works in forest stretch, land acquisition and financial issues, the project from Addahole to B C Road was delayed. Later, the contractor (L&T) had requested the NHAI for amicable foreclosure of the proposal. Now, fresh bids have been prepared for the appointment of a new agency to take up the work.
Information sought under the RTI revealed that after M/s L & T stopped the work, the project was bifurcated into two packages. The fresh bid documents after conducting Detailed Project Report (DPR) have been submitted to the NHAI headquarter for the stretch from Periyashanthi to Bantwal (covering 49 km) and for the forest stretch from Periyashanthi to Addahole (covering 15 km) on NH75 and the bidding is under progress.
The DPR cost estimate for the project has been escalated to Rs 1,937.73 crore from Rs 821 crore. In the past, the project was taken up under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. The project had comprised the construction of 14.5 km of service roads, two flyovers, two major bridges, 14 minor bridges, and nine underpasses. In the revised proposal, there is one flyover and 11 underpasses, including those at Nelyadi and Uppinangady.
With the works remaining incomplete on the entire stretch from B C Road to Addahole, the motorists are facing inconvenience. Works have remained incomplete at Bedrodi, Valalu, Udane, Perne, Kokkada and other places. At Kokkada, a huge hillock has been cut to straighten the road. The mud from the hillocks enters the drains during monsoon and thus disrupts the easy flow of water, motorists said.