Rs 195 cr for additional loops on flyovers, underpass

To reduce traffic congestion on Ballari Road, the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Tumakuru Road, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) will build additional loops on KR Puram and Hebbal flyovers besides an underpass at Goraguntepalya.

The state government has allocated Rs 195 crore for the purpose in the 2019-2020 budget.

“The additional loop is part of the elevated corridor project proposed by the Bangalore Development Authority(BDA), which has prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The project has been handed over to the BBMP because the BDA is short of funds,” a BBMP official said.

The BBMP has already acquired land for an underpass at Goraguntepalya.

In May 2016, then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and then Bengaluru Development Minister K J George had laid the foundation stone for upgrading the flyovers and building the underpass. But the government shelved the project to make way for the steel flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal.

Another BBMP official said: “Work on the additional loop on the Hebbal flyover was scheduled to get over by April 1 this year but we would now need time until December because land is yet to be acquired. The cost of the project will also increase. The budgetary allocation is not sufficient.”

Brigade Road, Commercial Street

The budget also announced that Brigade Road and Commercial Street would be reserved for pedestrians, similar to Church Street. Although Church Street was initially redeveloped as a pedestrian-only road, authorities later allowed traffic through it on the request of traders. Both the shopping hubs will be redeveloped under the Smart Cities Mission. A total of 20 roads will be redeveloped at a cost of Rs 200 crore,” a BBMP official said.