11-km Margao Western bypass ready for commissioning

The Western bypass is finally set for its commissioning more than half a decade after work on the project was initiated as part of the National highway expansion.

Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO

Finally, work on the 11-km Margao Western bypass is complete in all respects, more than half a decade after the ambitious project was launched with much fanfare with the avowed objective of decongesting the commercial capital and the adjoining villages of Nuvem and Navelim in the North and South Margao respectively.

Launched at an initial estimated cost of around Rs 200-odd crore, the project has finally cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 482 crore, the civil cost of the project, due to cost overruns, primarily due to the change in the scope of the work and delays in the execution of the project.

In fact, it is just a matter of time before the 11-km bypass is commissioned and thrown open for vehicular traffic, from Navelim to Verna on the National Highway 66. 

Take note, the Nuvem stretch of the bypass was completed and commissioned first followed by the Navelim stretch in the last five years. What, however, caused the delay in the completion of the project was the balance stretch passing through the flood plans of River Sal, between Seraulim and Benaulim, where villagers had waged a sustained battle in support of the demand for the construction of the bypass on stilts to avoid inundation of the villages during monsoons.

In fact, the PWD, National Highway was forced to partially meet the demand of the villagers when the government accepted the recommendation of a 10-member high level committee, constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to study the concerns raised by the villagers on flooding in the petition filed by Benaulim citizen Royla Fernandes.

A ride down the balance 2.75 Benaulim-Seraulim stretch of the western bypass at Benaulim and Seraulim have revealed that work on the project is completed in all respects. In fact, Superintending Engineer, PWD, National Highway Dattaprasad Kamat has informed that all decks have been cleared for the commissioning of the  western bypass after the load testing evoked positive results. 

“The 11-km western bypass from Verna and Navelim is finally completed in all respects. The Nuvem stretch of the bypass was commissioned earlier. This was followed by the commissioning of the Navelim stretch  up to the Benaulim-Varca road. Now, the PWD has completed work on the balance 2.5 km stretch. The bypass is ready for commissioning”, Kamat said.

The bypass work has been executed by two contractors, one to execute the work on the Nuvem-Seraulim stretch and Navelim stretch and the second contactor, Ms M Venkata Rao Infra Projects Pvt Ltd to build the 2.75 km balance stretch between Benaulim and Seraulim.

Explaining the salient features of the balance 2.75 km balance Benaulim-Seraulim bypass, the PWD Superintending engineer informed that the 2.75 km stretch comprises of a via duct portion to a stretch of 1.2 km. A total number of 15 box culverts have been laid on the 2.5 km stretch, especially on the problematic Benaulim stretch, he added.

The 2.5 km balance stretch has a provision for three vehicle underpasses, one near the wholesale fish market on the Seraulim road, and the remaining two at the Khareband bridge junction and Varca road junction.

Kamat said the balance  stretch has a provision for a service roads between Road over bridge to Khareband and Khareband-Varca road.