Those travelling on National Highway 75 now can heave a sigh of relief as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has completely relaid the battered highway in some stretches and filled potholes at other wherever they existed along the 63-km road.
It has been nightmarish experience to drive along the highway for over a year as the pothole-filled road in 2019 again developed potholes and craters even before the 2020 monsoon. The condition only got worsened after the rain that lasted till November. Though the NHAI undertook pothole-filling exercise in December, road users had said that it was haphazardly executed.
NHAI’s Karnataka Regional Officer R.K. Suryavanshi told The Hindu that the authority responded to the ground situation and got the entire stretch between BC Road and Adda Hole in Dakshina Kannada repaired. While some worst-affected stretches were completely relaid for a couple of kilometres, other affected portions were restored through scientific patchwork.
The authority has spent close to ₹ 15 crore to restore the affected stretches, he said.
Mani Gopal Pai, a native of Mani village working in Bengaluru, said that highly battered stretches of the highway between Mani and Uppinangady have been relaid. Similarly, about a 5-km stretch between Panemangaluru and Kalladka that too was in a pathetic condition has completely been restored. But, the absence of road markings, including the median and shoulder lines, make driving difficult during nights, he regretted.
Roshan Sequeira, who recently drove from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, said that driving through NH 75 is not tiresome as it was earlier. The condition of the highway has improved, he said.
