Flyovers are hardly that, rains will make them worse

BENGALURU: The unscientific construction of City’s flyovers, which are poorly designed, could be life-threatening this monsoon. With India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting heavy rains, motorists can expect a difficult time riding over these overpasses, which are also damaged and have potholes.Bengaluru has over 25 flyovers and many are over 15 to 20-years-old. The New Indian Express visited a few to see how well they will serve this rainy season, and found many accident-prone spots.

The Hebbal flyover, for instance, which connects the city to the international airport had a huge crater in the middle. Two wheeler riders are particularly worried about this and gave accounts of people who lost control of their vehicles and escaped by a lucky chance (see box).

At Nayandahalli Junction flyover, poor maintenance has led to weeds flourishing on either side of the fly-by road. To avoid the weeds, motorists keep to the centre of the lane and this means slow-moving traffic.

Adithya N, a student from PES College, said, “Flyovers are constructed for faster movement but, because of such silly reasons as poor maintenance, we have to make peace with sluggish flow of traffic.”

At Sirsi Circle Flyover, last year, an elderly couple Sagai Mary and Anthony Joseph had had a fatal accident when they tried to avoid a pothole. Today, authorities have fixed the road surface and filled in the potholes, but other problems on this stretch remain.

There are no sign boards or reflective signs near turns, which can result in accidents in the night. Visibility will worsen with the onset of monsoon. A passerby Manu R said that this spot is an accident-prone, and recently a man was injured while taking a turn.

Traffic expert Prof M N Sreehari said that flyovers cannot ease traffic congestion. “Over a period of time, the traffic congestion will merely shift to the next junction,” he said, adding, “Flyover will become a piece of construction (to be crossed). Many flyovers do not have water outlet on the top. Even if there are outlets, they are blocked with dust or even overgrown weeds. Therefore, water-logging happens and adds pressure to the parapet wall and cracks will start to appear on it. This is dangerous and risky for vehicle users”.

Flyovers that need attention
     Sirsi Circle Town Hall Flyover
     Richmond Circle Flyover
     Beniganahalli KR Puram Flyover
     Central Silk Board Flyover
     Hebbal Flyover
     Jayadeva Flyover
     Anandarao Circle Flyover
     Nayandahalli Junction Flyover
     National College Flyover

What do experts say
Civic evangelist V Ravichander said that, when constructing flyovers, the pedestrian pathway beneath flyover should be given first priority, followed by the motorist path beneath the road and that the flyover lane should be the last priority. Ideally, flyover should be constructed on an 18-metre (or 59 foot) road so that there is adequate space given to pedestrians and road users beneath the flyover. The width of flyover lane should be between 3 and 3.2 metre. “Personally, I feel Bengaluru flyovers are more than 3.5 metre-lane width. If motorists have more space, they tend to ride faster and thus accidents happen. By reducing the width, accidents can be prevented,”
he said.

Accident triggers
 Potholes
 Weeds growing on either side of flyover lane
 Unscientific humps
l Damaged parapet walls