Sivananda Circle work to restart

After a gap of 10 months, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is likely to resume the construction of the steel flyover in Sivananda Circle, which is behind schedule at least by three years.

The civic body received a go-ahead from the High Court on Thursday after Indian Institute of Science (IISc) experts approved the modified design of the flyover that slightly reduces its gradient.

By shortening the flyover, the civic body does not have to worry about the acquisition of six of the seven properties, whose owners were not happy with the compensation offered by the corporation. It is learnt that the BBMP plans to acquire one property — a vacant site.

“The modified design is well within the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines. It has also been vetted by IISc experts. As only the up and down ramp on one side of the flyover is pending, we need a month’s time to complete the work,” a BBMP official said. He said the civic body is still waiting for the final judgment to be uploaded online.

Bus users suffer

Ever since a major portion of Sivananda Circle was barricaded to construct the flyover in October 2017, it is the bus users and pedestrians who have been at the receiving end.

The BBMP has removed the bus shelter, forcing bus users to wait for buses in the sweltering heat. Woes don’t end there; the footpath on one side of the flyover has completely vanished, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road risking their lives.

A store manager said there are at least six major institutions, including Seshadripuram College and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in and around the junction. “After the flyover work began, the entire junction is in mess. The height of the flyover is so short that many vehicles have got stuck beneath it. It also has a steep turn that could prove fatal for vehicles that are speeding.”

M Lokesh, Chief Engineer (Projects) of BBMP, promised to build a foothpath and re-construct the roadside drain soon after the flyover work is complete.

“We will also widen the railway underpass,” Lokesh added.

Experts are of the view that the flyover at the junction was not needed at all.

A study by Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) said the flyover will be ineffective in curbing the problem of traffic congestion.

“It is not even a short-term solution,” he had cited in a report that was prepared on the request of local residents.

“It will very implicit that the flyover will lead to a more aggravated bottleneck situation at the railway crossing ahead. In the present case, vehicles only approach this bottleneck in a platoon due to traffic situations. With the flyover, the flow will be continuous and will lead to pile-up of vehicles on the flyover itself,” the report stated.