Bengaluru's longest flyover to come up between J P Nagar and Hebbal

Bengaluru: A road-cum-metro corridor – similar to the 5-km double-decker project on south Bengaluru's Ragigudda-Silk Board stretch – has been proposed along the western part of the outer ring road (ORR) between J P Nagar and Hebbal. Stretching a total length of 32.15 km, this will also be the longest flyover in Bengaluru.

The elevated road component – also planned for 8 km on Magadi Road – is estimated to cost Rs 9,800 crore.

On Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar reviewed the proposal by visiting locations like Hebbal, BEL Road, Summanahalli and Goraguntepalya junction.

"We will build an elevated road along all future Metro projects. It will be designed along the lines of what has been built on Ragigudda Road. This is being considered because razing properties to widen roads will mean high cost of acquisition," the Bengaluru development minister said.

Officials said both lines of Namma Metro's third phase – totaling a little more than 40 km – will have double-deckers, adding that the feasibility study is 90% complete. The change in design, especially to accommodate the elevated road within the same pillars as the Metro, has delayed the tendering for Metro's civil works, though the Centre had approved the project in August last year.

"The project is being considered with the next 30-40 years in mind," the deputy chief minister explained. "The cost will be equally borne by BBMP and Namma Metro."

Design tweak

To accommodate the double-decker proposal, the 32.15-km line between JP Nagar 4th Phase and Kempapura – part of Namma Metro's Phase III project – will undergo a major revision at Goraguntepalya. Officials have proposed building a new Metro station near the junction instead of an interchange station at Peenya, where the existing east-west corridor meets.

While the design is expected to cut construction costs and reduce the length by 300 metres, the newly proposed interchange station will be connected to both Peenya and Goraguntepalya stations by separate travelators.

Even though it may cause inconvenience to Metro passengers, the design is expected to ease traffic congestion at Goraguntepalya, particularly for vehicles travelling between Dr Rajkumar Memorial and BEL Circle, as the double-decker project will create a signal-free corridor. This will also eliminate the need to take a detour, as a direct surface road is proposed through the acquisition of properties belonging to the Defence Ministry and the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute.

"This will be a game-changer," Shivakumar remarked when officials presented the design at the review meeting.