'Look beyond current population, build for future'

Road infrastructure projects are rarely built with a vision beyond a few years. This is why Hebbal flyover has to be redesigned, Jayadeva flyover has to be demolished and KR Puram bridge is now a traffic blocker. DH interacts with a cross-section of Bengalureans to get their views.

Bindu C, an Assistant Professor and economist notes: “Civil engineers, architects and people who have expertise in planning should collaborate closely to ensure that the infrastructure being built lasts long.”

She says before and after construction, the authority concerned must ensure that the structures are stable and last long as per the plan. Bindu finds corruption as one of the main reasons for the poor quality of construction. “Corruption not only causes damage to the structures but also poses a threat to society and citizens,” she adds.

Business analyst Sajil P S draws attention to the inherent fault in the system. “Giving contracts to the wrong person and rampant corruption are the two things that we need to address. First of all, we need to analyse why we need a flyover or a bridge.”

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“It should not be for the sake of the current population alone. We should expand the infrastructure for the coming 20 to 30 years. As the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru is going to see more crowds after the reopening of the IT sector,” Sajil points out.

Now post-lockdown, the traffic has increased. “What are we going to do after the techies come back from the hometowns. This is the vision that government needs before expanding and redesigning the bridges or flyovers.”

Thamburu Sunny, a faculty of management studies at Christ College, has this to say: The bridges, flyovers, and Metro are necessary for daily commuters. Especially for those who travel from the outskirts of the city or the ones who commute daily from the city to neighbouring towns such as Hosur, these infrastructure projects are necessary.”

She cites the Hosur flyover as an example. “Hosur flyover is a boon for those who need to reach Electronic City quickly without much traffic. The Hebbal flyover, Jayadeva flyover, and KR Puram bridge should be replaced or redesigned with adequate capacity upgrades as soon as possible,” says Thamburu.

Anthony Avlon, a resident of Hulimavu, says, “India has one of the largest population of youngsters, and I believe at least 90% of them have a dream of owning a car. Even though in pandemic, we have seen an increase in auto sales due to easy finance, launch of international auto brands, and new scrappage policy. It shows the number of vehicles is not going down any time soon in Bengaluru.”

“An urban area over 25km in radius with 13 million population, the city is infamous for its traffic. We can clearly see the lack of vision while constructing roads. Hebbal Bridge, Silk Board Junction, K R Puram bridge, Veersandra signal, Jaydeva flyover are a few examples for that. The Hebbal bridge is not wide enough to accommodate the three-lane speeding traffic heading from the airport road which makes it a bottleneck point,” he elaborates.

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