This fly over is nightmare for motorists

BBMP fail to provide relief from humps on this first of the overbridge in the City

In what appears to be negligence or sheer incapacity, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) over the past three years has been unable to provide any relief from the humps and unevenness on the Sirsi Circle flyover.

Built by Larsen and Tubro (L&T) in the year 1999, the flyover was the first of the overbridges in the City. The 2.8 kilometre stretch was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore. But lack of maintenance and technical knowledge on part of the BBMP over the years led to its sorry condition.

“The flyover was never maintained by the Palike. They had hampered the safety of the structure when the expansion joints were neglected on the top,” informed a former Palike official.

Safety at risk

As a stop-cap arrangement, the BBMP in the past couple of years had covered the expansion joints with asphalt for motorists to ply on them, placing the safety of the structure at risk. “The excess tar on the flyover is definitely hampering the flyover,” informed the ex-BBMP official.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, chairman for the task force on quality assurance in public construction, C S Vishwanath said  while there does not seem to be any danger to the structure, its functional efficiency is questionable. “The trouble with regard to the Sirsi Circle flyover has not come to us (task force). However, there does not seem to be any danger to the structure as of now. What is questionable is the fact that the functional efficiency of the flyover is under threat,” he said. Vishwanath believes that the problem lies in the expansion joints on the flyover which needs to be maintained.

Unfinished job

Justifying the delay in the maintenance of the flyover, BBMP officials state that while tenders were floated over the years, none of the companies came forth to bid for it.
“The flyover was in good condition since its construction for about five to six years. However, in the last three years the expansion joints have deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. The previous company left the job unfinished in maintaining the flyover,” informed a BBMP official.

Palike sources now confirm that the tender for the maintenance of the flyover has been approved in the BBMP Council and has gone to the government for approval. “The maintenance of the flyover has now been handed over to an international agency at a cost of around Rs three crore for a period of 5 to 10 years,” informed the official.