Bengaluru Shivanand Circle steel flyover a very bumpy ride

The Steel Flyover near Shivanand Circle, under construction for almost five years, was partially opened for the public in Bengaluru recently. One side of the flyover, the work on which is still incomplete, was opened to facilitate repair work on Harekrishna Road below. However, this has affected commuters who are complaining about bumpy rides on the flyover and the road below. 

Commuters who use the Harekrishna Road in Bengaluru took to Twitter to highlight the bumpy ride that they had to endure while travelling on the Steel Flyover. When TNM visited the site, one side of the flyover had been closed to the public while the other was open. The side that remained closed had levelling work being carried out. Apart from the uneven surfaces near the expansion joints, the road seemed to be even throughout. 

However, locals expressed their anger over the shoddy work being carried out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). “They took 5-6 years to complete this flyover and have not even done a good job. The road here has also been closed while the work on the flyover itself has not been completed and the traffic situation is a disaster in this area,” said the owner of a grocery store nearby. The work on the flyover started in 2017 and missed several deadlines.

A resident of the area, who owns a tea stall close by, said the expansion joints have made the flyover ride very bumpy. “I’m a senior citizen and already have to deal with back pain issues. The expansion joints have made the flyover commute bumpy and it aggravates my back pain,” he said. 

A BBMP engineer who was on the site said the construction of the flyover was not complete and it had been opened simply as an alternative to the closing of Harekrishna Road. “The levelling of this flyover road along with some other work is yet to be done. This can take us anywhere from 15 days to a month. We opened the flyover only to provide a shorter alternative to commuters on the Harekrishna Road. We believe the work on Harekrishna Road will be completed within a week after which the flyover will be closed for the public again and the work on it will resume,” he said.