The deadline set by the Chief Minister for throwing open two alternative roads to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) was February 2017. Nearly a year after the deadline passed, the highly anticipated roads are still not ready.
Sources, however, said the work had gathered pace as Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George is keen on opening the roads before the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections comes into force. They are now working towards a March deadline.
The two roads — Hennur Main Road and Thanisandra Main Road — meet at Bagalur, from where the Public Works Department (PWD) is developing a link road to the KIA. An entrance at the southeast end of the KIA, at Begur, will be opened to connect to the link road. “We have begun asphalting the last stretch of the road from Bagalur. We will definitely open the roads by March,” said M. Lakshminarayan, Additional Chief Secretary, PWD.
Hari Marar, president, airport operations, BIAL, said that they had asphalted the road within the airport leading to the new entrance and were ready to throw it open “any day”.
Much of the delay is because of shifting a 120-kV underground power line at the last stretch of the proposed road. It is the power supply line to the KIA. Sources said there were issues in acquiring land where the power line was supposed to be moved. But the acquisition issues were sorted out recently, and work on shifting the power line has begun, officials said. “The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) needs to speed up shifting of the power cable. That is the last hurdle. Once that is done, we are good to open the road in a few weeks,” said Mr. Lakshminarayan.
B.R. Chandrashekar, Chief Engineer, KPTCL, Bengaluru, said farmers had been objecting to shifting of the power line to their land as they had not been compensated. “The government has released compensation and it will be disbursed soon. When we started the work on Wednesday, some farmers did object to it, but we assured them of compensation. We will shift the power line in the next two weeks,” he said. PWD officials said once the power line is shifted, they would take two or three weeks to throw open the roads.
Meanwhile, urban Commute expert Sanjeev V. Dyamannanavar said that agencies must immediately pull their socks up, given the nearly one year delay.
“The two alternative roads, while providing toll-free commute to those coming from east Bengaluru, will also decongest K.R. Puram and Hebbal junctions, easing up a stretch of the Outer Ring Road and Ballari Road,” he said.
Bridges, underpasses planned for signal-free ride
The two alternative roads to KIA — Hennur Main Road and Thanisandra Main Road — each have four traffic signal junctions. The Public Works Department has now proposed small bridges or underpasses at the eight junctions to make the two roads signal-free.
“The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike can pitch in and build the eight structures to make the two roads signal- free, to provide a seamless commute to the airport,” said M. Lakshminarayan, Additional Chief Secretary, PWD.
BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad, said that following a proposal by the PWD, they were working to include grade separators or underpasses at four junctions, especially on Hennur Main Road, in the upcoming BBMP budget proposals.
