Peenya flyover won't reopen to heavy vehicles until April 2024

The Peenya flyover will not reopen to heavy vehicles before April 2024, as the work to install prestressed cables that will make the structure durable is taking longer than expected. 

The 15-metre-wide flyover is located on the arterial Tumakuru Road in northern Bengaluru. It starts at Peenya and ends at Nagasandra, spanning 4.2 km. 

The flyover was shut for traffic in December 2021 after prestressed cables in three spans (distance between two pillars) gave way due to corrosion. 

In February 2022, authorities allowed light motor vehicles onto the flyover, but heavy vehicles, such as buses and trucks, still cannot use it. As a result, Tumakuru Road sees severe traffic jams on a daily basis. 

A four-member technical committee recommended adding 240 prestressed cables to strengthen the flyover and make it ready for heavy vehicles. It was also decided to replace the existing 1,243 cables. 

In January 2023, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) floated a tender for the Rs 38.5-crore repair work. However, work could start only in July because of the Karnataka assembly elections. 

While the contractor has been given a May 2024 deadline, the NHAI is hopeful that the work will be completed by April so that heavy vehicles can be allowed back onto the flyover, said KB Jayakumar, Project Director (Bengaluru), NHAI. 

“The work hasn’t been easy. There are so many challenges. It’s taking time,” he told DH. 

For example, the work cannot be carried out at night or during rain, he said. 

Prof Chandra Kishen JM, from the civil engineering department at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), was a member of the committee that gave recommendations. 

According to him, two cables are being added into extra slots at every span and stressed. This work will take some more months. Once this is done, heavy vehicles can be allowed into the flyover, he told DH. 

Of the 240 cables, 96 have been laid and the rest will be added in two more months. All the existing 1,243 prestressed cables will be replaced in the second stage, he added. 

Since the cables broke because of corrosion, which in turn happened due to the ingress of moisture and sunlight, the committee suggested giving four layers of protection to the cables (galvanising, greasing, epoxy-coating and sheathing), Kishen explained.