Battered stretches at hairpin curves of Agumbe Ghat to be repaired soon

Hundreds of road users annoyed with the decrepit road condition on the hairpin bends of Agumbe Ghat can breathe a sigh of relief as the National Highways Department of the Karnataka Public Works Department will soon undertake the restoration of the affected areas.

A senior NH-PWD engineer said: “Annual maintenance work has already started from Hebri towards Agumbe and the affected sections of Malpe-Tirthahalli NH 169A up to Someshwara have been rectified.” Hindu On Saturday, January 3, 2026. He added that the worn-out areas at Agumbe Ghat will be fixed in about a week.

Agumbe Ghat has been an important link between Udupi and Shivamogga/Chikkamagaluru districts. Over the years, vehicular traffic, especially the number of private vehicles, has increased with tourists visiting Sringeri, Horanadu etc. This has increased exponentially with visits to natural and religious attractions in these regions, including

worn stretches

Although potholes and craters formed during the prolonged Monsoon in 2025, majority of the 14 hairpin bends along the nearly 10 km Ghat stretch had eroded the bituminous surface. In addition to making navigation difficult for drivers, obsolete areas also caused traffic backlogs due to slow movement of vehicles.

The engineer said that although the tenders were floated right after Monsoon, they were rejected on technical grounds. It took time to finalize new tenders and start annual maintenance works. He added that the selected contractor will maintain the highway for a year, in addition to repairing the damaged parts.

convex mirrors

The engineer said the recently installed convex mirrors at all bends helped drivers negotiate the bends smoothly. He said those coming down from Agumbe were able to take advance precautions and give way to vehicles approaching from Someshwara after watching them.

The engineer added that convex mirrors can eliminate blind curves in sharp bends to some extent.