Dharwad
The Pune-Bengaluru National Highway bypass between Narendra Cross and Gabbur which had turned into a death trap is finally being widened into a six-lane stretch and the work is on fast track.
The 30.6km two-lane stretch constructed by Nandi Highway Developers Limited (NHDL) in 2000 had earned the notority of being a death trap as more than 800 people and many animals lost their lives in accidents.
On January 15, 2021, the accident near Itigatti Cross had claimed the lives of 13 people, who were on their way to Goa from Davanagere.
The accident had evoked sharp criticism from the citizens who had slammed the authorities for its failure in widening the bypass. Several organisations had demanded the immediate widening of the bypass. The relatives of 13 women who died in the accident had held a Shraddhanjali meeting at the accident spot.
Taking a serious note of the accident, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety had sought a detailed report from the state government on the accident and the measures proposed by the government to prevent such accidents in future.
The tenure of NHDL which constructed the bypass will end in May 2024 and it will hand over the road to NHAI for development into a six-lane stretch.
Responding positively to the demand, the central government has approved the detailed project report for the widening of the bypass and issued a notification on March 25, 2023.
NHAI project Director Bhuvaneshwar Kumar told that the 30.6km stretch will be widened at a cost of Rs 580 crore and the work will be completed by September 2025.
