Recurring delays: Hebbal loop project's April deadline falls by wayside

Bengaluru: With the April-end deadline fast approaching, commuters have their eyes fixed on the new BDA elevated loop coming up at the Hebbal Junction to provide some relief from the traffic snarls they see on a regular basis.

Even as a lot remains up in the air, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is confident that works will be completed soon, and the ramp will be open to the public by mid-May.

A visit to the construction site on Monday showed erect pillars, but large gaps between them, especially above the railway line.

Ongoing construction has kicked up dust and left piles of metal blocks on either side of the railway line, making commute — both for vehicles and pedestrians — a nightmare. Many pedestrians complained of the daily dust, while vehicle users continued to honk their way through the junction.

The downramp from the masjid to the hospital has been concretised, with 16 spans joined together. Two more spans — 38-metre long and 17-metre long — are to come up over the railway line. Seven spans after the line will complete the ramp; two out of these seven have been erected and concretised opposite the temple.

Two pillars are still being constructed in the middle of the junction to connect all these components together. This has left the loop looking disjointed.

However, BDA officials are confident that their plan to open the new loop connecting the KR Puram side to Bangalore Baptist Hospital by May 15 will be successful.

A senior BDA official told DH, "The two spans that will go across the railway line are ready for trial assembly. An inspector from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) was to visit us to inspect this assembly on Monday, but it was postponed to April 23 (Wednesday). This will happen at a fabrication yard maintained by a railway authority-approved vendor in Gauribidanur, Chikballapur," he said.

Following this approval, the BDA will write to the South Western Railways (SWR) to obtain the timings to erect the spans, based on rail movement. "We will launch the spans from the existing Hebbal flyover, with one crane on top and two at the bottom. We have taken permission from the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) to work between 1 am and 3 am. We plan to complete all girder erection by the end of this month," said the official.

Report in January 

In January, DH had reported that the authorities were unlikely to meet the mid-April, or the 100-day deadline set by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to complete the construction of the loop, which will connect vehicles coming from the KR Puram-side to Bangalore Baptist Hospital at Hebbal.

In response, the BDA asserted that work would be completed by the end of April. This is after the initial deadline of September 2024 was pushed further due to operational delays.

Two of the under-construction pillars of the new flyover loop at the Hebbal Junction.

Girders waiting to be erected on top of the pillars. DH Photo/Udbhavi Balakrishna

The concretised down ramp from the hospital-side.