In another instance of a breakdown of the city’s infrastructure, a portion of Sumanahalli flyover, which is barely nine years old, crumbled and collapsed on the road below late Friday evening. One side of the flyover, from Nagarabhavi towards Dr. Rajkumar Samadhi, will be closed until the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike fixes the problem. Officials were unable to say when the repairs will be completed though Mayor M. Gautham Kumar said that the civic body will fix the problem within 10 days.
BBMP officials believe that an unattended pothole gave way due to stagnant water because of rains and heavy vehicular traffic.
According to locals, the hole appeared around 6.45 p.m. immediately after which a traffic constable and motorists alerted the police and BBMP officials, who rushed to the spot.
“Such incidents are rare and dangerous. We will take necessary restoration steps and also inspect the condition of the bridge,” said a BBMP official.
The Mayor said, “We will make sure that inconvenience to the public is mitigated. The BBMP is working with the traffic police in this regard.”
The flyover is situated on the Goraguntepalya-Nayandahalli section of the Outer Ring Road, over the busy Magadi Road connecting Nagarabhavi and Dr. Rajkumar Samadhi. It was built by the BDA in 2010 and handed over to the BBMP in 2016.
“We immediately diverted traffic to one side of the road. Fortunately, no vehicle was passing over the collapsed part or got stuck there,” said a police official.
BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar directed officials to submit a report after a quality check. Acknowledging that the civic body had not maintained the flyover properly, Mr. Anil Kumar said, “There are many roads across the city that are poorly maintained. I have directed the officials to make sure roads are well maintained and water does not stagnate on them.”
No one from the BDA was not available for comment.
Anger among motorists and commuters
Karthi S.K., a cab driver, said it will be extremely difficult to commute given the traffic density on a regular day. “They have diverted traffic to the service road, which is narrow. This will create traffic jams and make vehicular movement a nightmare,” he said.
A BMTC bus driver, worried about schedules, said that it would take him an additional 20 minutes to reach the other end of the flyover as the service road is narrow and in bad condition. “The flyover is on a ring road that connects Goraguntepalya to Nayandahalli, and is frequented by heavy vehicles. We will all have to use the service road,” he said.
Mahadevappa N., who lives in the area, described the construction of the flyover as shoddy. He said, “It seems like a pothole turned into a hole. This is the quality of construction. I am sure infrastructure across the city is of equally poor quality . The BBMP should do a quality check on all flyovers.”
