A grade separator (underpass) planned in 2014 at the busy Hope Farm junction in Kadugodi to address traffic congestion, which was yet to take off owing to land acquisition issues, has been scrapped by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The civic body is now planning to make way for free left turns on all the four roads at the junction, which it believes will reduce congestion on the tech corridor.
“We have decided to scrap the underpass project as there is immense resistance to acquire land required for it,” said BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad.
A decision to this effect was taken at the Coordination Committee meeting for the city chaired by Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar on February 4.
BBMP first offered Transferable Development Rights (TDR) as the mode of compensation, which was rejected by landowners. The civic body then offered them cash compensation.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. is extending the Namma Metro line from Byappanahalli to Whitefield passing through Hope Farm junction and has acquired land by paying double the guidance value, which the BBMP has not been able to match, blocking any acquisition for the grade separator project, sources said.
Mr. Prasad said the metro work, expected to be completed by 2021, was also a hurdle to build an underpass at the junction, and this was another reason to scrap the project. “There is a free left turn from Whitefield towards ITPL. On the other side, metro alignment is passing through. Below the elevated metro corridor, a free left turn can be provided. Land needs to be acquired for providing free left turns on the other two sides,” Mr. Prasad explained.
Citizens divided
But people are not sure if the junction can be fixed without a grade separator. Urban expert and resident of Whitefield R.K. Misra said that free left turn at all four arms of the junction would ease congestion and waiting time to a large extent and this was being taken up on an experimental basis.
However, commuters who travel through the busy junction every day are not happy with the decision. Ashish Tulsian, a resident of Channasandra Main Road, said, “There is already a free left turn from Whitefield towards ITPL, which is the busiest left turn at the junction as it takes traffic from the city towards the tech hub. The number of vehicles that take the left turn at the other three arms of the junction is very minimal and hence this won’t solve the pile- up at the junction at all,” he argued.
He added that traffic on Whitefield Main Road and ITPL Main Road towards Channasandra and on the opposite lane was several times the volume the roads could handle. “The only way this can be eased is through a grade separator. Free left turns at the junction will solve little,” he said.