A portion of the Mangaluru-Solapur National Highway 169 that was closed for a month between Ganjimutt and Yedapadavu following destablisation of the existing highway on Yedapadavu Hills, has been opened for traffic, albeit through the Yedapadavu bypass, from this week. The opening has brought a big relief to hundreds of daily commuters on the Mangaluru-Moodbidri-Karkala stretch.

The existing carriageway passing through the Yedapadavu Hills had developed cracks after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began constructing the bypass through hill-cutting, following which the highway had to be closed for a month from February 10. Manglauru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy had issued a notification prohibiting vehicular movement through the affected stretch and directing their movement on alternative routes.