Mahakalipadpu twin RuBs ready; date of opening yet to be finalised

The Mahakalipadpu twin railway underbridges (RuB) beneath the Mangaluru-Shoranur railway lines as a part of Morgan’s Gate-Jeppinamogaru four-lane road is finally ready, 57 months after laying of the foundation stone, for operation from Saturday.

However, Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. (MSCL) that executed the four-lane road project and coordinated the RuB construction with Southern Railway and the Mangaluru City Traffic Police, would decide on opening of the RuBs for vehicular traffic after a joint inspection on Saturday, officials said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Crime) K. Ravi Shankar told The Hindu that vehicular movement may be allowed on Sunday, when traffic volume would be less compared to other working days.

MSCL managing director G. Santhosh Kumar said pending the completion of one of the two carriageways on the Jeppinamogaru-side, two-way vehicular movement would be allowed temporarily near the RuBs. Once concreting of the carriageway where boulders came in the way of construction was complete, both the carriageways would be opened.

Final touches being given at the twin railway underbridges site in Mangaluru on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
H.S. MANJUNATH

Smart City general manager (Technical) K.S. Arunprabha said barricades would be placed for safety for shoulder drains till guardrails are put in place. Commissioning of the RuBs was crucial to partially close the Karavali junction-Pumpwell Circle Bypass Road for redevelopment, he said.

Then Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel laid the foundation stone for the ₹50-crore four-lane project along with twin RuBs on March 28, 2021. He had also announced that the project would be completed within one year.

The actual work on RuBs began in December 2022 when Southern Railway closed the Mahakalipadpu railway level crossing for vehicular traffic other than two-wheelers. Pushing of concrete boxes beneath the railway lines for the underbridge structure got completed in April this year.

The four-lane road offers shorter route for vehicles to and from South of Mangaluru, including Kerala.