Travelling on 10 state highways will soon require payment of toll as the bids placed by private companies are being evaluated, to collect toll on the 10 stretches, including popular routes Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Hanagal, Karkala-Padubidri and Davangere-Birur.
The PWD’s Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) has taken up work on building or redeveloping 31 state highways, including four built under the public-private partnership model, where the toll is already being collected.
On some of the remaining 27 other roads, commuters have been paying the toll for the past several years.
“The tender scrutiny committee has already finalised the bids for the 10 roads, which have been under use for some time now. We are waiting for the government’s approval following which toll collection will begin,” a senior official from the KRDCL told DH.
Officials said that besides the maintenance cost, the toll amount is fixed to recover the amount needed to service the loans taken from different agencies, including the World Bank, for the project.
“The successful bidder is the one who has promised the highest amount by calculating the revenue through toll collection,” an official added.
Padubidri-Karkala (SH 1), Gubbi-Chandrashekharapura (SH 84), Yedeyur-Kowdley-Mandya Road (SH 84), Hanagal-Tadas Road (SH 1), Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Hanagal (SH 57), Tinthani-Devadurga-Kalmala Road (SH 61 and 15), Savadatti-Badami-Kamatagi (SH 34 and 14), Ballari-Moka (SH 1432), Davangere-Birur and Kudligi-Sandur-Toranagal (SH 10) are the stretches where the toll collection is expected to begin in a month.
Officials said the toll on Hoskote-Chintamani bypass road (SH 49), where the department was collecting money, is likely to see an upward revision soon.
“The toll amount fixed by the department was almost nominal. A tender has been called to hand over the toll collection to an agency, which will definitely seek to revise the toll as per the latest standards,” the official said.
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