Sankey Road flyover to be demolished for elevated corridor

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has decided to demolish the existing flyover opposite its head office on Sankey Road to make way for a new elevated corridor from Chalukya Hotel Circle to Hebbal junction. 

Work on this infrastructure project is expected to start only after the Lok Sabha elections and obtaining necessary clearance from the State government.

A senior BDA official told Deccan Herald on condition of anonymity that the elevated corridor will be constructed at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore as mentioned in the State budget this year.

As per the plan prepared by the BDA, though the skywalk near Basava Bhavan will be shifted, the historic Windsor Manor bridge will not be disturbed. The 7-km-long elevated corridor will be built atop the bridge and the railway track. But the existing flyover on Sankey Road, opposite BDA head office, will be demolished. The BBMP had built this flyover at a cost of Rs 7.1 crore.

“It is a temporary flyover. It will have to be removed to construct the elevated corridor using steel pillars. The elevated corridor will have six lanes and is expected to smoothen the ride to the Kempegowda International Airport from the City centre. We are waiting for government clearance, that will be obtained only after the Lok Sabha elections,” the official added.

The detailed project report for the corridor has been prepared and tenders have to be invited. The BDA officials are now working on ways of demolishing the existing structure without affecting the traffic.

BBMP officials, who constructed the flyover, said it was prepared using magic box technology. It is not a permanent structure and can be removed. This is not an Indian technology, but is popular in Japan, Korea and Malaysia, where time and space are a constraint. Such pre-cast temporary structures are installed and retrieved as and when required there.

“This is a two-lane double road and has an up ramp, a down ramp and a middle portion. We are aware that the BDA is keen to remove it for the permanent elevated corridor. The loss will not be major, except machinery and manpower that was utilised. But the pre-cast fabricated structures can be used elsewhere for constructing another flyover,” said the BBMP official.

The BBMP has also envisaged the task of widening the existing Sankey Road for the elevated corridor. It is procuring a part of the Palace Grounds, which is presently under litigation.