Traffic at Hebbal in Bengaluru. (File image for representational purpose)
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: As office-goers streamed back to the city after an extended holiday break, major congestion plagued key arteries on Monday morning, particularly below the Hebbal Flyover and along Baptist Hospital Road. The newly opened second loop, aimed at easing flow, instead highlighted emerging bottlenecks.
Traffic peaked between 8.45 am and 11 am, with vehicle volumes doubling or even tripling on narrower stretches, according to a senior traffic police officer from Hebbal. "On Monday morning, peak traffic was evident as people returned after a long holiday break. We managed the flow despite high congestion," the officer stated, noting that manual interventions helped prevent gridlock.
DCP North Traffic, Jayaprakash, pointed to the traffic hotspots after Hebbal near the police station. "Congestion was reported towards the city, as expected on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Outgoing traffic also surges during Friday and Saturday peak hours," he said. Authorities anticipate similar patterns in the coming days as routines normalise.
Commuters have voiced worries over potential chokepoints at the Baptist Hospital bus stop, where multiple roads converge, exacerbating merging issues. Traffic from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) loop, Airport Road (Bellary Road) loop, Tumakuru Road, KR Puram direction, and service roads like Esteem Mall merge here, creating crisscrossing flows that slow movement.
The down ramp from the new loop lands near the bus stop, leading to vehicles from ORR taking a right to join Airport Road while others veer left, often causing chaos.
The commuters DH spoke to said "The flyover is a breeze now, but the moment you descend near Baptist Hospital, you're stuck. It took me 20 minutes just to pass the bus stop because buses and cabs are all trying to merge at once”.
Another commuter DH spoke to said, "The bus stop right at the end of the descent is the real issue. Buses block two lanes, and vehicles from the new loop have to swerve sharply to avoid them”.
While the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has touted the loop as a game-changer for Hebbal's notorious jams, commuters urge immediate tweaks, such as shifting the bus stop or adding lanes.