The war memorial at the junction of Brigade Road and Residency Road has been spruced up as the civic body gets ready to inaugurate five new roads on Tuesday, all developed under TenderSURE.
All five — Nrupatunga Road, Museum Road, Commissariat Road, Residency Road and Richmond Road — are major thoroughfares in the Central Business District. The development of these roads was taken up under Phase 1 of the project, for which the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) received a lot of flak.
However, the civic body has defended the TenderSURE work, claiming that it was one way to make the city’s roads world-class. The roads, pavements, utility ducts, bus bays and streetscape have been developed to match international standards, say officials.
According to K.T. Nagaraj, chief engineer (projects), BBMP, TenderSURE roads would require very little maintenance after they are developed. “These roads will not develop potholes, nor will there be any road cutting, as there are organised utility ducts on either side,” he said.
Work on four roads under Phase 2 is under way. While the work on Modi Hospital Road is likely to be completed by June-end, work on Jayanagar 11th Main and Siddaiah Puranik Road will be completed only by the end of the year. Development of Church Street, taken up recently, is likely to take over a year as there is a lot of work to be completed.
Besides the roads taken up under the two phases, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has proposed developing 50 roads under TenderSURE. Some of the key roads include Queen’s Road, Brigade Road, Infantry Road, Raj Bhavan Road, Racecourse Road, and all roads surrounding N.R. Square. A detailed project report for this is being prepared, and tenders will be called subsequently, Mr. Nagaraj said.
