The stretch of Bengaluru-Nilgiri Road between Hardinge Circle and Gun House Circle, out of bounds for the public from the first week of February first week on account of roadworks, has now been thrown open to traffic.
The almost 1-km stretch, which was taken up by the Public Works Department (PWD) for laying a concrete top, now also has a median from Gun House Circle to tank bund road (near the entrance of Dasara exhibition grounds).
Though the stretch has been re-opened, much to the relief of road users who were being forced to take a detour, work along the edges of the road remains incomplete.
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The reopening also coincided with the arrival of a large number of tourist vehicles to the city for the long weekend.
“The road has been reopened as the deadline issued to the PWD to complete work has passed. They have promised to complete the pending work by working at night,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) N. Rudramani.
Work on erection of barricades and laying of foothpath and interlocking tiles along the edges of the road is pending.
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The closure of the stretch had led to piling up of vehicular traffic on adjoining roads, particular at K.R. Circle, which affected even the KSRTC buses exiting and entering the city bus stand.
The waiting time for vehicular traffic at the K.R. Circle signal had increased, with a gridlock starting several metres from the traffic signal on the road between K.R. Circle and Chamaraja Circle, as well as on Sayyaji Rao Road between K.R. Circle and the old Janata Bazaar.
Relief for bus users and staff
The reopening of the stretch has also cheered up bus passengers and staff. “It is a big relief for us. We kept asking the authorities to reopen the road as soon as possible,” said Ramamurthy, KSRTC Division Controller (Urban).
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The KSRTC’s city bus services will now be restored to the original routes, after almost three months of diversion. “We will revert to the original routes in a day or two,” Mr. Ramamurthy added.