Rock delays Muthuraj junction underpass

There seems to be no near end to the plight of commuters on the outer ring road, especially near Hosakerehalli junction, as work on the Muthuraj junction underpass is getting delayed.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is building a signal-free corridor from Mysuru Road junction to Central Silk Board junction crossing five intersections under the Nagarothana project. The Muthuraj junction, which is one such intersection, is a bi-directional underpass, is getting delayed due to the presence of a huge rock.

The hard rock is being excavated using the controlled blast method. “This method uses rubber so that when there is an explosion, there is no danger of flying debris from the rock,” said K T Nagaraj, chief engineer, road infrastructure projects, BBMP. This consumes a lot of time, he said.

Though the project was conceived in 2015 and was expected to be completed by the end of October this year, it may be ready only by the end of March, 2019.

“It was only four months ago that the traffic police have given us traffic clearance, though we sought an approval last June.

Now, we have shifted all utilities like power lines and BWSSB pipes. Also, Bescom’s overhead lines have been replaced by underground cables,” Nagaraj explained.

Kathriguppe ward corporator M Venkatesh said they don’t want to inconvenience commuters anymore and added that work is now gathering pace. “Besides adopting controlled blasts, we are also using excavators to speed up work,” he said.

Mayor R Sampath Raj, who inspected the site with engineers and MLA Ravi Subramanya said that 25% of the work is over and the remaining will be completed soon.