Bottlenecks in road-widening project

 In what appears to be a bid to provide seamless traffic movement for those entering Bangalore City from the Devanhalli Airport Road, the BBMP had devised a 150 feet road width infrastructure for movement of vehicles. Even as the road widening along Palace Grounds has commenced, the Hebbal flyover to Sanjaynagar stretch has been put on an ‘indefinite’ hold.

Reason: The land to be acquired for the road widening is in the hands of the Armed Forces. A land measuring approximately 8,000 sq meters is yet to be approved for acquisition by the Armed Forces, more specifically by the Air Force.

Palike officials are now contemplating on acquiring any further land for the same purpose from private property owners on the same stretch as the land acquisition from the Defence personnel is yet to be ratified. “We are ready to commence the work on this stretch too, but the Defence personnel need to give us that much expanse of land,” said a BBMP official.

Defence land

The Palike is confident that the private owners will provide them with the necessary expanse of land once the Armed Forces give them the requisite space. “Under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTCP) Act we can acquire the rest of the requisite private property. The trouble lies only with the Defence land,” said the official.

The BBMP intends to widen the road from Hebbal flyover to BDA junction flyover near Windsor Manor. The envisaged width by the Palike is kept at an uniform 45 meter wide roads. The current project from Mekhri Circle to the BDA junction and from Mekhri Circle to Cantonment station has also been commissioned for 45 meters.

But, ground realities are likely to remain the same till the Hebbal flyover to Sanjaynagar junction road widening project is taken up by the BBMP. Traffic congestion and bottlenecks will persist without the road widening project after the Hebbal flyover. So is the road widening project on Jayamahal Road and Bellary Road premature? Only time can answer.