Ballari Road between Cauvery theatre junction and Palace Grounds Gate-4 to be upgraded to six lanes, govt. tells Karnataka HC

A view of Ballari Road from Mehkri Circle in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The State government on Tuesday told the High Court of Karnataka that the 630 m stretch of Ballari Road between Cauvery theatre junction and Palace Grounds Gate-4 at the entrance of Gayathri Vihar would be made a six-lane road from the existing four lanes to improve movement of vehicles towards the city from Mehkri Junction.

Also, the government said that Jayamahal Road between Mehkri Junction and Cantonment railway underpass is being upgraded to a proper four-lane road with a uniform width of 7.5 meters in both directions from the existing width varying from 5 to 7 m, and the works are under way.

An affidavit in this regard was filed before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi during the hearing of a PIL petition, filed by Samarpana, a cultural and social organisation, seeking measures to decongest these stretches of the roads.

Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department) Rakesh Singh, in his affidavit said that main reason for congestion of traffic is the uneven width of the road hence it was proposed to maintain uniform width.

Pointing out that the length of road between Cauvery Junction and Palace Grounds Gate-4 is about 630 meters and there exists a two-lane road on each side, the government said that it has been now proposed to widen the two-lane road to three lanes by increasing the existing width, which varies from 6.5 mts to 7.5 meters, to 9.5 meters on each side.

The existing central median will be shifted from the right to the left side while realigning the road, the affidavit states, and the road work would commence shortly, the government said while pointing out that already there exists a three-lane road on both the sides with a width of 11.5 m on each side between Palace Grounds Gate-4 and Mehkri Junction.

The government also said that 58 trees on this stretch have to be either translocated or removed and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has already submitted an application before the concerned authority of the Forest Department for this. Around 14 trees will have to translocated or removed on Jayamahal Road for widening, it has been stated in the affidavit.

The Bench adjourned further by two weeks while directing the BBMP to file a statement about the widening works in view of the proposal submitted by the government.