In what will come as a relief to motorists, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is set to fast-track work on the ₹109.5-crore signal-free corridor on the busy Old Airport Road, which has been mired in land acquisition problems since August 2018.
As part of the 17.5-km signal-free corridor from Vellara Junction to Hope Farm Junction, three underpasses were planned at Wind Tunnel Road Junction, Suranjan Das Road Junction and Kundalahalli Junction.
On Friday, BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar met representatives of National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to sort out issues related to land acquisition for the underpass at Wind Tunnel Road Junction. Work on the underpass began in August 2018 after the required land was handed over to the BBMP by the two agencies.
However, according to senior BBMP officials who attended the meeting, work was halted as ISRO had requested that the service road on either side be six metres wide for easy access to their campus and for ease of commute. As per the original design, the BBMP had factored in service road of 3.5-metre width. The BBMP is now trying to see if the width of the service roads can be increased as per ISRO's request.
“Several deadlines have long passed. Work on the underpasses has either stopped or is progressing at a slow pace. We will review the work periodically to fast-track the project,” an official said.
Work on Suranjan Das Road Junction started in April 2019.
Construction of the underpass at Kundalahalli Junction was stopped due to issues with land acquisition. BBMP officials are trying to solve the issues. The civic body needs to acquire 23 properties.
“We have held preliminary meetings with the land owners. We will soon arrive at a consensus on compensation to be paid to them,” an official said.
