Mangaluru: With concreting work complete and ancillary works expected to be over in about a week for Package 2 of Shiradi Ghat reconstruction, the crucial link connecting the coast with the hinterlands will be opened to traffic on Sunday.

The stretch will be inaugurated by Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna and Housing and Urban Development Minister U.T. Khader, at 11.30 a.m. at Gundya in Dakshina Kannada, marking an end to six months’ ordeal of road users who had to take alternative routes.

The road has been in a battered condition since 2007-08. Though the National Highways Division of the State PWD did the annual ritual of maintenance by spending a couple of crore rupees, the ghat remained in a pathetic condition following movement of heavy goods-laden vehicles, including iron-ore transporting trucks.

Senior officials, including Chief Engineer M. Ganesh and Superintending Engineer Raghavan of PWD’s NH division inspected the Package 2 stretch on Thursday.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil told The Hindu that concreting work was complete. Work on the guard walls and other ancillary works might get over in about four days.

Though the government had invited Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for its formal inauguration, it appears that the government is going ahead with the formal opening on July 15 as his dates were not available.

Concreting the 26 km ghat stretch was taken up in 2015 when Oscar Fernandes was the minister for road transport and highways, and the first package of 13 km was completed in August 2015 between Heggadde and Kempu Hole Guest House.

Execution of Package 2 was mired in controversy as the initial contractor could not take up the work even after 11 months of getting the work order, and the government had to cancel the contract in January 2017.

M/s Ocean Constructions, Mangaluru, that had executed Package 1 was awarded Package 2 also, and it completed the work in six months against the contractual period of 18 months.

The contractor had deployed state-of-the-art technology, including geo-textile sheets for the base, to execute the work. PWD officials hope the road should last for at least three decades.