Flyover will become redundant in a year: IISc study

The proposed flyover on Sankey Tank Road will become redundant in just a year after its launch, a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) said.

The flyover, which is proposed to be built by widening the road from Bhashyam Circle to Malleswaram 18th Cross, does not even qualify as a “short-term” solution, said the analysis which also warned of traffic congestion both at grade and on top of the flyover.

The analysis was presented by Dr Ashish Verma, Associate Professor of the Department of Civil Engineering (Transportation Systems) of IISc, at a programme hosted by Citizens for Sankey, a collective of residents from Malleswaram, Sadashivanagar and Vyalikaval, on Tuesday. The group was formed in opposition to the construction of the flyover.

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“The flyover being presented as a long-term solution is just fiction. The BBMP has not studied the alternatives and spillover effects before finalising the construction. The BBMP will be able to ease congestion just by optimising the traffic signals around the junction. It can offer the best results without additional investments,” Prof Verma said during a technical presentation.

Transportation planning, he said, is not just about removing congestion points, it is also about reducing the total vehicle kilometres travelled in motorised mode.

“A 3.5-metre right-of-way can carry 1,800 passengers with usual traffic. If a bus priority lane is introduced, the carrying capacity goes up to 15,000 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD). A single-track light rail transit system can carry 30,000 PPHPD and a metro transit system can carry 69,000 passengers,” he said, demanding that the authorities make road-centric solutions less attractive to build a sustainable city.

Theatre artiste Prakash Belawadi, who had taken the lead in protesting against the Rs 1,200-crore steel flyover project on Ballari Road, moderated the session.

B S Prahlad, engineer-in-chief of BBMP, acknowledged that the congestion at Cauvery Threatre magic box would increase after the flyover and road-widening projects.

“There are concerns about traffic congestion at the magic box. We will come up with a solution to the Ballari Road issue,” he said while promising to take a relook at the flyover project by consulting experts.