The thick green canopy on Mysore Road, perhaps the last major road in the city with such magnificent foliage, will soon be a part of history as over 50 huge trees on either side of the road are being axed for widening of this traffic-choked arterial route.
On its way to join other major roads — Bellary Road, Racecourse Road, K.R. Road, Seshadri Road and Mahakavi Kuvempu Road — which have lost their green cover either to road-widening or for the Bangalore Metro — Mysore Road has lost nearly 10 trees already. While some have been axed near BHEL for the Metro work, six trees were felled near the Muslim Burial Ground just after the Sirsi Circle Flyover for road-widening.
Structures also
The felling of trees is part of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) proposal to widen the Mysore Road between the Sirsi Circle Flyover and Mysore Road's junction with the Outer Ring Road near Nayandahalli. The palike has already pulled down a few of its own structures near the tollgate to facilitate road-widening.
A senior BBMP official told The Hindu that as per the revised master plan, the road must be 30 metres wide between the flyover and Kimco Junction and 45 metres between Kimco Junction and the Outer Ring Road (ORR) junction. Work has already started and will be completed within 18 months at a cost of Rs. 24 crore, he said. At present, the width of the 5 km-stretch varies between 18 and 28 metres.
Traffic congestion
The official described Mysore Road within the city as one of most congested roads and hence the decision to widen it. Once it is broader, the problem could be solved to a large extent, he said.
Also, a proposal to construct an elevated road between Sirsi Circle Flyover and Kimco Junction has been cleared by the Technical Advisory Committee. This is also expected to ease congestion, the official said.
Mysore Road will be made one-way between Gali Anjaneyaswamy Temple and Kimco Junction once the flyover over the storm water drain between Chord Road and Bapujinagar, which is under construction, becomes operational.
It will allow traffic towards the city and the Kimco Junction will then become signal-free, the official added.
Slow crawl
At present, it takes at least 45 minutes to one hour to cross the 5-km stretch between Nayandahalli and Sirsi Circle Flyover during peak hours.
During non-peak hours, movement of trucks makes matters worse and the situation is no different from peak hours.
