Does every “improvement” to the city have to lead to an imminent nightmare? What else can be said about the several ongoing construction and civic projects – which though promise long-term solutions – have in the short-term themselves become reasons for congestion.
The busy Outer Ring Road (ORR) has numerous such examples. At J.P. Nagar third main, construction work sees barely two lanes available for commuters. Even in this narrow space, potholes and un-asphalted stretches make commuting a bane.
The situation at Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle or Padmanabhanagar is no different. While residents understand the need for the underpass, what has them livid is the poor quality of the roads, which further bring down the speed of vehicles.
There are at least three spots on this busy stretch where the civic agency has put up barricades, considerably reducing the width of the carriageway. It sometimes takes up to half-an-hour to cross one signal. “Commuting on this road was always a problem. It seems we will have to bear the bottlenecks and drive on a pothole-ridden road. They could have at least levelled it,” says N. Ramesh, who works in a private company and uses Outer Ring Road frequently.
Even after work is completed, there is no guarantee that roads will be friendly to motorists. Take for instance, the stretch from Gottigere to NICE road junction on Bannerghatta Road where pipe laying work was completed four months ago. The road, however, is yet to be restored.
Private construction projects are a nightmare, especially on sub-arterial roads, say residents. Often traffic flow comes to a halt to make way for heavy vehicles carrying construction material in and out of the premises.
Plan for alternative roadWhen Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) undertakes a project, roads are widened before or during construction of piers or stations. However, Bangalore Development Authority and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said this option was out of the question for their projects, as temporary land acquisition is never factored into the project.
But motorists argue that the least that could be done is to ensure paved roads while construction is on. For instance, at Kittur Rani Chennamma Circle on ORR, a portion of the road equal to the width of a lane is unpaved and has deep potholes. This can be rectified temporarily.
Experts Speak“The only solution to the problems posed by construction and infrastructure projects is better co-ordination between civic agencies. The co-ordination committee on traffic formed by the Chief Minister meets every Saturday and is also in constant touch over WhatsApp. But this needs to be a constant exercise to ensure better roads and better alternative routes for traffic during any infrastructure work,” says V. Ravichandar, member, BBMP Restructuring Committee.
R.K. Mishra, member, Technical Advisory Committee, BBMP, says, “When any big infrastructure project is taken up, the civic agency must plan for alternate routes for the traffic. In BMRCL projects, widening of roads and redoing alternate routes for traffic is factored into the cost. However, not in case of projects taken up by BDA and BBMP. Also, if traffic is diverted to a service road due to a flyover construction or other project, we need to ensure that the service road is free of potholes.”
