8 footbridges to come up along Nelamangala expressway

In a burgeoning city that has nudged the pedestrian out, the authorities have finally woken up to the problems of commuters on foot.

The civic authorities and the traffic police, sources say, are putting their heads together working out measures for pedestrian safety.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) Praveen Sood told Deccan Herald that his department has managed to woo the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to construct two foot-overbridges near Peenya through which the new Nelamangala Expressway passes.

“We have written to the NHAI to provide for pedestrian crossing facilities at two places - one near Ken Metal Factory and another at Radhaswamy Ashram,” Sood said.

“With the expressway in place, traffic is going to be non-stop and pedestrians will have a huge problem crossing the road without such facilities,” he said.

Welcome relief

Approximately, 20,000 people are expected to cross this road daily and the proposed bridges are a welcome relief for them. The Peenya Industrial Estate alone has over five lakh workers.

Allaying speculations of a ban on two and three-wheelers on the expressway, Sood said: “There are no such restrictions, the road will be open for them. However, not too many autorickshaws are expected to use the road.” Confirming plans to construct these bridges, the NHAI officials said “the project is in the process of fabrication and it should be complete in 75-90 days.” “We are looking at February next year,” they added. While the cost of the 19.5-km expressway connecting Nelamangala and Yeshwanthpur is estimated at Rs 720 crore, each of these bridges will cost the NHAI Rs 1 crore.

NHAI officials said while the two bridges would be in the city limits, it would also construct six such bridges to facilitate pedestrian crossing, at an estimated Rs 6 crore.

“The other bridges will come up at Binnamangala, Parle-G factory, Himalaya Truck Factory, Kunnigal bypass and Exhibition Centre,” officials from Navayuga Construction, in charge of the project, said.