Govt to tweak elevated corridor to link it to Metro

Facing criticism over the elevated corridor, the government on Monday decided to integrate the road infrastructure with the Metro network to make the project more than just a long flyover as proposed earlier.

The suggestion was put forth by experts and Urban Development Department officials to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy who chaired a high-level meeting at Krishna on Monday.

Kumaraswamy had called for a meeting to discuss the various proposals. “It was explained to him that the city’s traffic volume is four times more than what it can hold. This caught his attention and he agreed to have a multi-modal solution instead. The government is keen to link Metro with the large loops and flyovers along the elevated corridors,” sources who attended the meeting told DH.

“It was decided to complete the project in five phases. It was discussed to have Metro link on two major corridors — Mysuru Road to Old Madras Road and Hosur Road to Hebbal. The government also discussed the Metro rail from Krishnarajapuram to Goraguntepalya and Varthur Kodi to Jnanabharathi campus on Mysuru Road. It was also discussed to have a major six-lane corridor from Hebbal to Central Silk Board and four-lane loops from St John's Hospital to Agara, Halasuru to D’Souza Circle and Wheeler Road to Kalyan Nagar,” sources said.

In the first phase, the government has shown interest to develop the loop from Hebbal to Silk Board junction. The government will have to work in coordination with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) on this.

While the complete elevated corridor project would cost around Rs 15,852 crore, the government has estimated that around Rs 8,000 crore will be spent on the first phase. Of this, Rs 4,000 crore will be spent on construction alone.

The government is thinking of a hybrid annuity mode, where the elevated corridor could be tolled. However, members from the National Highways Authority of India have not yet been consulted for the project.

To ensure that environmental concerns are not raised, the government has decided to seek the opinion of IISc experts. An independent study will also be conducted to assess the environmental impact of the elevated corridor, sources said.

Project proposals Metro link on Mysuru Road to Old Madras Road and Hosur Road to Hebbal Metro rail from Krishnarajapuram to Goraguntepalya and Varthur Kodi to Jnanabharathi Six-lane corridor from Hebbal to Central Silk Board Four-lane loops from St John's Hospital to Agara, Halasuru to D’Souza Circle and Wheeler Road to Kalyan Nagar