Another flyover proposed to ease airport traffic

BENGALURU: The City will have another flyover to ease traffic movement to and from Kempegowda International Airport.  It is one of the areas where the controversial steel elevated corridor was also proposed. Soon after taking charge, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj announced the construction of a 14.2 km- long elevated corridor from Indiranagar BDA Complex to Medahali via KR Puram and Byappanahalli.

“The flyover is the need of the hour as there is a huge traffic congestion on the roads leading to the airport. People commuting on Old Madras Road and Hyderabad Link Road are worst affected due to the airport moving crowd. I am closely working on the flyover as it is in my constituency and people have also demanded it. I am proposing it to the chief minister so that it be included in the upcoming budget and that work start immediately,” he told The New Indian Express. 

‘Will cost exchequer over Rs 560cr’

Though the initial estimate prepared by the minister is said to be Rs 200 crore, as per Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) engineers, who are working on preparing the detailed project report, each kilometre will cost at least Rs 40 crore. Meaning it would cost the exchequer anything between Rs 560- 600 crore.

The minister said the project will not be delayed and will be fast-paced. He said it will not be a steel flyover as the word itself draws a lot of controversy; pre-cast technology will be used instead to ensure that there is less disturbance on ground and the project is completed at the earliest. The ground assessment and drawings are also being prepared and studied. He said the existing KR Puram bridge will not be demolished for this elevated corridor, the new one will connect on one side and continue from the other side.

A BBMP official said it was a challenge to create a project with limited budget constraints. “We need to look at the best practices in Bengaluru and other cities to create this elevated corridor as the areas chosen already have high-density traffic and there is limited space to work on ground. The soil testing and passenger car per unit reports will show the practicality of the flyover and the locations proposed by the minister,” a BBMP engineer said.