Mangalore city's long awaited tryst with a second exit road is taking shape with Mangalore City Corporation floating tenders for developing Kulur Ferry Road, from Durga Mahal at Mannagudda to Kalikamba junction, at an estimated cost of Rs 10.58-crore. MCC intends to make the stretch a model road flush with all amenities to boast off. Plans are also afoot to develop the Mangaladevi-Subashnagar Road into a model road at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore.

Managalore's major traffic, enters and exits the city through Dr BR Ambedkar (Jyothi Circle) via Kudmul Ranga Rao Road, PVS junction, MG Road before joining the Kulur Ferry Road at Lady Hill Circle. Once the proposed 1.236-km of road from Durga Mahal to Kalikamba junction is widened and developed into a four-lane concrete road, it can be ideally used as a corridor by heavy goods transport vehicles going towards Bunder.

K Harish Kumar, secretary to the minister for urban development, and former commissioner, MCC said that the model road is being developed under project Tender SURE, which aims at improving the quality of life in cities.

Urban roads in India suffer from a two-fold gap - a lack of design specifications; and poor procurement process. Tender SURE addresses both these gaps by providing vital, replicable blueprints for governments and contractors alike. GV Rajashekar, executive engineer, division one, MCC said the need for an alternate parallel or exit road for the city's traffic is a long-felt need and will be addressed through this project of the model road.

This road which bears a heavy load of goods vehicles going towards Bunder gets spoilt often, Rajashekar said, adding that the project will be completed in 12 months after the tender is finalised excluding rainy season from July to October.

Some of the features envisaged in this proposed model road include well laid out footpaths, ducts for cable, drains, and medians with provision for streetlights and bus bays. The floating of tender was delayed due to the code of conduct, Rajashekar said, adding the road will be completed by February 2015 if things go as planned. The tender process for Subashnagar-Mangaladevi Road too is under way and the work will be entrusted soon, Rajashekar noted.