Bengaluru to get 16 more flyovers at Rs 1,650 crore

Amid a raging debate on the utility of flyovers in decongesting roads, the BBMP has allotted a whopping Rs 1,650 crore for building 16 flyovers, including seven new ones, in different parts of Bengaluru.

The civic body announced this in its budget for 2023-24 on Thursday.

The BBMP will borrow Rs 770 crore from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) to fund most of the flyovers. The government will provide most of the remaining money.

Two of the seven flyovers were announced in the state budget for 2023-23. One of them will connect SMVT railway station at Baiyappanahalli. The other will be an integrated flyover from the Yeshwantpur railway station to New BEL Road. The remaining five were announced in the BBMP budget (see table).

Determined to complete the flyovers announced in the past, the BBMP has set aside Rs 965 crore for them. To make this possible, it will take a loan of Rs 770 crore from KUIDFC for the first time. The remaining Rs 195 crore will come from BBMP’s own resources.

Some of the old proposals that received additional funds include the construction of an underbridge near the Yeshwantpur railway station, grade separators at Wilson Garden, Yelahanka, Hoodi Junction, ITPL Big-Bazaar Junction, Hope Farm, Minerva Junction and Suranjandas Junction on Old Madras Road.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said, “There has been a cost escalation for nine projects that were approved in the previous financial year. An additional Rs 965 crore is needed to finish these projects.”

The BBMP has set aside another Rs 20 crore for the maintenance of 42 existing flyovers and 28 underbridges; Rs 70 crore will be spent on widening Bannerghatta Road.

Commenting on the generous funds for flyovers, Shreya Gadepalli, managing trustee of The UrbanWorks Institute, said that trying to solve traffic congestion with flyovers was like treating cancer with band-aids. “Better public transport, not wide roads and flyovers, solves the mobility problem. Metro alone won’t do. We need a world-class bus service to complement it — more buses, better buses, and dedicated lanes so that buses can transport people swiftly and seamlessly across the city,” she said.

New flyovers

* Gokula Road near Mathikere (Rs 40 cr)

* ORR-Pipeline Junction at Jalahalli (Rs 40 cr)

* Mehkri Circle (Jayamahal Road) (Rs 65 cr)

* Sadashivanagar police station (Rs 40 cr)

* Rs 25 cr for construction of additional vents for NHAI underpass near Yelahanka Raitha Santhe