JOIN USBallari Road widening work, Hebbal flyover loop in limbo
Work on widening Ballari Road and adding a loop to the Hebbal flyover is making little progress.
The National Highways Authority of India has to wait for a green signal from the National Green Tribunal: the service road it has planned falls within the 75-metre buffer zone stipulated around water bodies. The delay is likely to stall work on the Hebbal flyover loop, as the two projects are linked.
The NHAI recently wrote to the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA), seeking permission to widen the service road. “We requested them to approach the NGT. I have not got any request from the BDA seeking permission for widening the Hebbal flyover,” said G Vidyasagar, Chief Executive Officer, KLCDA.
R K Suryavamshi, NHAI Project Director, said his officials would soon meet their KLCDA counterparts to iron out all problems.
“Widening of the service road towards Esteem Mall has been completed. On the opposite side, we will work till the military farm and then wait for environmental clearance for the 400-metre stretch,” Suryavamshi said. The NHAI is also holding talks with Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to shift the culverts. The area is accident-prone and has turned into a major traffic bottleneck.
BDA’s confusion
The BDA is not sure if it should approach the National Green Tribunal for permission to add a loop to the Hebbal flyover.
“It is towards Esteem Mall, on the existing Ballari Road. But if there is any opposition, we may drop this project too,” said a BDA engineer. The BDA had to abandon a steel flyover project in the face of widespread opposition by citizens.
It plans to build an underpass from Tumakuru Road to KR Puram and add a loop for traffic coming from the airport towards the city. The project has been approved in the state budget, with an allocation of Rs 88 crore.