The Bangalore Development Authority’s blueprint for the proposed steel flyover on Ballari Road will result in bottlenecks at both the start and end points at Chalukya Circle and Hebbal junction, say traffic experts. While the BDA has planned multiple exit points at Chalukya Circle to reduce congestion, there is no such plan for the Hebbal junction flyover.
At the time the Hebbal flyover was built in 2003 as a Rail Over Bridge (ROB), Kempegowda International Airport did not exist. Ballari road was not meant to be the main corridor from the city to the airport.
“Any solution to the congestion on the route cannot be achieved without solving the Hebbal flyover bottleneck,” said Professor M.N. Srihari, traffic expert.
While the BDA claim that the steel flyover will be integrated with the Hebbal flyover, the blueprints tell a different tale. The steel flyover (three lanes each for two-way traffic) ends at the Hebbal flyover ramp.
The existing road towards the airport has six lanes with a two-lane service road on either side. The elevated steel corridor will add another three lanes each way. Traffic from eight lanes will try to enter Hebbal flyover, which has only three lanes.
“Of the three lanes on Hebbal flyover, one is dedicated to traffic towards Outer Ring Road, thus making only two lanes available for traffic to the airport. When motorists from multiple lanes will be forced to squeeze into two lanes, it will only add to the chaos at Hebbal junction,” argues Sanjeev V. Dyamannanavar, urban mobility expert and a resident of the area.
“The time commuters expect to save by using the steel flyover will be lost at Hebbal making travel to the airport no better,” Mr. Srihari added.
Experts point out that there is no way the Hebbal flyover can be redesigned without razing it.
‘Multiple exit points at Chalukya confusing’
Another criticism is the BDA’s plan at Chalukya Circle. There will be three flyover ramps and two underpasses, which will only make the junction a maze, argue planners.
At the busy Chalukya Circle, ramps will emerge from the Raj Bhavan side, from Race Course Road and Palace Road. One underpass will be built for traffic between Raj Bhavan Road and Race Course Road and another between Millers Road and Palace Road.
“We are at a loss as to why BDA has planned so many interventions and flyovers from all roads leading to Chalukya Circle, which is essentially the nerve centre of the city,” said Mr. Srihari.
DULT and traffic cops in the dark
Contrary to the claims by the BDA that the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and the traffic police were consulted, it has now emerged that they were only briefed after the design was finalised.
Senior officials in DULT and traffic police told The Hindu that they were not consulted during the design phase of the project. “BDA briefed multiple agencies, including us, about the project. We raised some concerns as well, but we were not consulted on the design,” said a senior official.
Political parties hop onto protest bandwagon
With multiple citizens’ groups preparing to hold peaceful protests across the city against the steel flyover project on Sunday, political parties are jumping onto the bandwagon.
On Thursday, BJP chief spokesperson S. Suresh Kumar wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah listing out the reasons for opposition to the project. “The BJP very clearly and emphatically supports this movement against the unnecessary steel flyover. We demand that the government stop taking further steps without giving an opportunity to these concerned citizens through a public hearing,” the letter reads.
Mr. Kumar also stated that the cost escalation clearly indicates that the project was ‘contractor oriented and election fund oriented’. JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy recently alleged that the project is being executed at an unprecedented cost.
Sources among the citizens’ groups told The Hindu that JD(S) leaders had extended support for their movement.
