Hebbal flyover fails to ease traffic

Increased volume of vehicles to BIA choke Hebbal and Sanjaynagar wards

For the residents of Hebbal and Sanjaynagar, the new International Airport has been a blessing in disguise. For sure, proximity to the airport was a boon, but the unprecedented increase in traffic threw all planning awry. The case in point is Hebbal flyover. When it was conceived and completed more than eight years ago, little did the town planners expect the tremendous growth that north Bangalore was to witness, particularly after the opening of Bengaluru International Airport. So two years ago, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), taking note of the increasing traffic, decided to supplement the flyover with underpasses. "When we began to look at the traffic pattern at Hebbal flyover, we found that the Passenger Car Unit (PCU) on Hebbal flyover was more than 10,000 per hour. Motorists coming from Yelahanka and BEL Circle spent a long time at signals," said a BDA official. So, the BDA came up with plans to decongest traffic by building two signal-free underpasses at BEL Circle. The project envisaged a smooth ride for vehicles heading towards BEL Circle from Yelahanka and those moving towards Yelahanka from KR Puram. However, as of today, things are moving at a slow pace and BEL Circle has become a traffic bottleneck. Rajanna K, a resident of Lottegollahalli, who commutes by bus to work at Peenya everyday, says it takes him two hours. “Ever since the work on this junction started, our problems have worsened,” he says. Mekhri Circle is another example of a project that seemed adequate a few years ago, but appears to have fallen short of the expectations now. Rahul B, who works at Whitefield, says: “The traffic practically crawls during peak hours at Mekhri Circle. Around 10 am, I spend at least an hour just to move from Mekhri Circle to Cauvery Theatre on Sankey Road,” he says. A few years ago, BBMP attempted to solve the traffic problem at the Sankey Road-Bellary Road Junction by building a magic box - pre-cast underpasses which were supposed to be operational in a matter of days. However, the boxes have turned out to be too narrow, and are mostly unused by motorists. It is not just incomplete projects that these two wards have to put up with. Take a walk around the HIG Colony in RMV II Stage, and you can see potholes - many of which have been patched up in a manner that pose a threat to the lives of motorists. The HIG Colony residents recount that there have been a handful of accidents due to these unscientifically-filled potholes. “Last week, a bike ran into the middle of one such pothole. The rider broke his arm and had to be taken to the hospital", says Seetha Prasad, a housewife. There have been some improvements to the roads in the area after B S Yeddyurappa, who lives in Sanjaynagar, became the Chief Minister. Roads were extended and widened in the area, but the improvements were largely in and around the former Chief Minister's house.