Bengaluru: After 8-year delay, service roads on airport stretch near completion

Bengaluru: The ongoing construction of service roads at two places along the airport road (NH 44) will be completed by October, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said. 

A one-kilometre service road is coming up opposite Esteem Mall in Hebbal, while another 1.1-km-long stretch is under construction at Jakkur. The road will have two lanes with paved shoulders at both locations. 

Both roads will be about 10 metres wide, with a 2.5-metre utility duct and a 1.5-km drain. Once completed, they will help ease congestion on the busy route to the airport. 

The project had been stalled for eight years due to land issues. NHAI later acquired the land and began the work. 

"These service roads were left out of the concessionaire's scope of work earlier because land was not available," Vilas P Brahmankar, Regional Officer, NHAI (Bengaluru), told DH. 

Near Esteem Mall, the NHAI is also widening a minor bridge to facilitate the flow of water from Hebbal Lake to the stormwater drain. 

"The bridge is ready up to the slab level and requires 28 days of curing. We've not laid the bitumen layer because of continuous rainfall. The surface must be dry for it to hold," said KB Jayakumar, Project Director, NHAI (Bengaluru). 

He noted that the work has been challenging because water pipelines had to be shifted. Coordination with state government agencies was also required, he added. 

However, the work at Jakkur has hit a roadblock because tree-cutting permissions are pending, Jayakumar said. 

"We've constructed about 500 metres and laid bitumen. To finish the rest, we demolished part of the Jakkur aerodrome building last week and need to cut 15-20 trees. Despite paying Rs 10.5 lakh to the BBMP's forest cell, we are yet to receive permission to cut trees. These are not seasoned trees," he explained. 

According to Jayakumar, the service road near Esteem Mall will be ready in 30 days, while the stretch at Jakkur could be finished in 40 days if tree-cutting permission is received. 

Pradeep BU, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic, Northeast), said the work in Hebbal was causing traffic congestion. 

But Brahmankar disagreed. "We've not taken existing space from the main carriageway so there's no question of disrupting trafffic," Brahmankar said. 

Jayakumar concurred. 

A Yelahanka resident said the service road at Hebbal was badly needed. 

"Buses plying towards Chikkaballapur, Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad halt here to pick up passengers in the evening. This holds up traffic and the problem becomes acute during the rains. The service road will help the airport-bound traffic exiting the Hebbal flyover," he said.