The work had been scheduled to be completed by February 11, 2011
Contractors sought additional time due to incessant rain and a truckers' strike
— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM
Facility:Work on six-laning the ORR in Mysore is under way.
MYSORE:
The project taken up by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to make the Outer Ring Road (ORR) six-lane will be completed by May 2011. It will cater to the needs of the city till 2029.
Though the work was to be completed by February 11, 2011, contractors had sought additional time due to incessant rain and a truckers' strike which threw the work plan out of gear. Only 30 per cent of the work has been completed as on date. However, work has been in full swing and the MUDA hopes that the 32.5-km stretch of the ORR will be six laned by May 2011.
MUDA Commissioner P.C. Jayanna told The Hindu that the
ORR will have a width of 45 metres with provision for two service roads throughout the stretch with accessory footpaths. Unlike the Bangalore-Mysore highway, which is a four-lane highway, the ORR will have six lanes and including the service roads would be twice the width of the Bangalore-Mysore highway, he added.
The cost of six-laning the 32.5 km of the ORR has been pegged at Rs. 230.03 crore. This includes completion of the hitherto missing link, which will be taken up under the current work package, according to Mr. Jayanna.
A six-lane ORR was conceived based on the projected growth of Mysore and the importance of peripheral townships and the consequent increase in traffic density. A survey projected a traffic density along the ORR at 65,000 Passenger Car Unit (PCU) per day by 2029 while the present traffic volume or flow rate in terms of the PCU is said to be around 30,000 per day, according to MUDA officials.
The earlier plan was to take up the six-laning of the ORR but a stretch of 9.3 km, which was to connect Bannur Road with Nanjangud Road had been left out. However, Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta suggested that the service roads for the ORR could be temporarily kept in abeyance and the money thus saved could be ploughed in to complete the link road between Bannur and Nanjangud roads. The MUDA officials said the two service roads extending along the periphery of the ORR will be taken up subsequently as land was already in possession and funding would not be a problem. The eastern phase of the ORR has a stretch of 7.5 km while the western phase has a length of 24.71 km. Once completed, the ORR will connect the Mysore-Hunsur Road, Bangalore-Mysore Road, Mysore-Bannur Road, Mysore-Nanjangud Road, Bogadhi and Mysore-H.D. Kote Road. It is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion within the city as it will obviate the need for vehicles from rural hinterland from entering the city.