A combination of potholes and metro construction work across several several stretches in the city has made daily commute a nightmare for motorists. From Whitefield where Metro construction has just taken off to Mysuru Road and Kanakpura Road, metro barricades have begun to symbolise traffic jams. Slush, craters and cave-ins are the norm these days, say motorists.
After the recent spate of rainfall across the city, not only have massive potholes sprung up, but the overall condition of roads have also deteriorated. Roads along metro piers, which are being put up for Phase II, are filled with gravel, dust and water-logged potholes.
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While the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has widened roads and installed barricades to regulate traffic at least on Mysuru Road, there is no segregation of vehicles by class as was envisaged. As a result, mixed traffic is plying on narrow lanes meant to handle only cars or two-wheelers, which leads to traffic jams.
The situation worsens considerably on weekends and holidays when people heading out of the city for short vacations use these roads to exit Bengaluru.
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“If the condition of the roads was better, the barricades wouldn't have impacted traffic so much. However, with the road width already shortened considerably, potholes make it much tougher to navigate. In many places, these potholes have the capability to seriously injure motorists, as these are roads which see vehicles riding at higher speeds during early morning or night time,” says Abhay K.V., a resident of Kanakapura Road.
“The condition of certain stretches is very bad as there is dust flying everywhere. In some places, the road itself has caved in. While the rains have made travelling on this road a challenge, the metro work continuing through the monsoon is only making matters worse,” says Srinivas Rao, a resident of J.P. Nagar Phase 6.