A view of the lane between the metro pillars that has been opened for traffic movement.
Credit: Bengaluru Traffic Police
Bengaluru: The changes implemented by the south division of Bengaluru Traffic Police at the Iblur junction have led to a significant decrease in the average congestion observed throughout the day.
The Iblur junction on the Outer Ring Road in the southeastern part of the city sees a high volume of traffic as it connects major tech parks and the exterior parts of the city. The ongoing metro construction has also eaten away at the road space, directly impacting the traffic congestion levels on the road.
However, calculating the vehicle load and accordingly making a few changes led to a visible fall in congestion at the junction, Shiva Prakash Devaraju, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic South), told DH.
The traffic police removed metro barricades and debris on the lane below the metro viaduct and opened it up for traffic movement from the Bellandur signal to the Ecospace junction. People going towards Sarjapur Road are now being diverted at the Bellandur Gate while those going towards Ecospace from HSR Layout can take an immediate U-turn before the Iblur junction under the metro viaduct. This has reduced the time vehicles going straight need to take to cross the junction, bringing down the overall congestion levels.
A data sample shared by the traffic police shows how this has reduced traffic congestion on the stretch.
The average traffic congestion recorded at the Iblur junction on Thursdays from September to November 2023 versus the congestion recorded in January (until January 11). Congestion length was as high as 1,000 metres at 10 am on average on Thursdays between September and November and reduced to about 400 metres in January after these changes were implemented.
Previously, traffic congestion peaked at 8 pm, with an average congestion length of 1,800 metres, which has now fallen to an average of 250 metres at the same hour.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), the traffic police have been able to route vehicles according to expected traffic volume and recorded
congestion length at different times of the day, said Shiva Prakash Devaraju.