Vehicles crawl along the Outer Ring Road because the dust raised by ongoing infrastructure projects blinds motorists
Traffic crawls on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) that connects the IT corridor.It is not because of crater-like potholes,slowpaced infrastructure projects or the sheer volume of vehicles that fight for space.It is because of the dust kicked up by projects on the stretch.
The real problem is the gravel and clay that is making the stretch dangerous because it affects visibility.If you cant see the road ahead,how will you drive safely, asks Anup Rai,a techie who works at Global Tech Park near Bellandur.
To get a first-hand experience of what motorists feel,we decided to conduct a test-drive on the 71-km stretch of the ORR.It took us almost 5.5 hours to accomplish the gruelling task.
Five major infrastructure projects are currently being completed by the BDA,the custodian of the ORR.Flyovers are coming up (still) at Agara junction,Bellandur,Intel junction and behind the HP office just before the KR Puram suspension bridge.
An underpass was recently completed at the Cisco junction,which has not been officially opened to the public.A lot of machinery moves in and out of here.The BWSSB has taken up two major projects - laying of underground pipelines near Intel campus and Iblur camp.
The problem is,most of these projects are crawling.The clay and gravel are scattered along the stretch.Whenever a Volvo or any large vehicle goes by,it kicks up dust that seriously compromises visibility.You go blind for a few minutes and those minutes can make all the difference between life and death, says Ramya Karthik,an employee at the Bagmane World Technology Centre,who travels from BTM Layout on her two-wheeler.
A similar problem is faced by motorists at the Bellandur junction,where the BDA is yet to complete two flyovers.The sheer volume of the traffic does not allow us to speed up.If you apply brakes to avoid slamming into the vehicle ahead of you,the sand makes your vehicle skid,causing minor accidents, says Vishnu Agarwal,who travels from Koramangala to his Sarjapura office.
Even the traffic cops who man the junction say motorists skidding off their motorbikes is a common occurrence.We cant be filing cases every time such minor accidents occur, said a constable trying to control chaos near the Marathalli flyover.
The problems arent just confined to motorists.The plight of pedestrians too is quite pathetic.I prefer to use public transport because I cant drive through the madness.Yet,even crossing the road can be stressful, says Vandana Patnaik,a mother of two who works in a firm on the stretch.
She has a point since there are no skywalks and none are being planned either on the entire stretch.Crossing the road can be risky.
We found a number of pedestrians risking life and limb to get to work as motorists refused to give way.But it cant be helped because there is nobody to help, says Vishal Mehta,another techie.
Sames the case at Marathahalli and KR Puram as well.
At the KR Puram suspension bridge,a huge crater of a pothole slows down even Volvo buses.A couple of months ago,they patched up the other potholes,but that has made life even more miserable because it has made the stretch uneven, says Aneesh Kamath,who drives his Scorpio to work.
Cross the IT corridor towards BEL factory,and the sand-laden trucks make life miserable.The situation gets a little better as we hit Laggere and Nayandahalli and cross the final resting place of cine star Dr Rajkumar at the Kanteerava Studios.
But when you approach Mysore Road,your stress levels go through the roof as you try and cross the stretch.
After an exhausting drive,we can safely conclude the administration has a lot of catching up to do.
87 ACCIDENTS IN A YEAR
The estimated passenger car units (PCU) on the Outer Ring Road are 20,000.Of these,35% are estimated to be two-wheelers.The major police stations on the stretch are KR Puram,HSR Layout,Mahadepura,Hulimavu,Parappana Agrahara and Hennur.In the last one year,the total number of accidents put together from all these police stations is 87.
Traffic crawls on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) that connects the IT corridor.It is not because of crater-like potholes,slowpaced infrastructure projects or the sheer volume of vehicles that fight for space.It is because of the dust kicked up by projects on the stretch.
The real problem is the gravel and clay that is making the stretch dangerous because it affects visibility.If you cant see the road ahead,how will you drive safely, asks Anup Rai,a techie who works at Global Tech Park near Bellandur.
To get a first-hand experience of what motorists feel,we decided to conduct a test-drive on the 71-km stretch of the ORR.It took us almost 5.5 hours to accomplish the gruelling task.
Five major infrastructure projects are currently being completed by the BDA,the custodian of the ORR.Flyovers are coming up (still) at Agara junction,Bellandur,Intel junction and behind the HP office just before the KR Puram suspension bridge.
An underpass was recently completed at the Cisco junction,which has not been officially opened to the public.A lot of machinery moves in and out of here.The BWSSB has taken up two major projects - laying of underground pipelines near Intel campus and Iblur camp.
The problem is,most of these projects are crawling.The clay and gravel are scattered along the stretch.Whenever a Volvo or any large vehicle goes by,it kicks up dust that seriously compromises visibility.You go blind for a few minutes and those minutes can make all the difference between life and death, says Ramya Karthik,an employee at the Bagmane World Technology Centre,who travels from BTM Layout on her two-wheeler.
A similar problem is faced by motorists at the Bellandur junction,where the BDA is yet to complete two flyovers.The sheer volume of the traffic does not allow us to speed up.If you apply brakes to avoid slamming into the vehicle ahead of you,the sand makes your vehicle skid,causing minor accidents, says Vishnu Agarwal,who travels from Koramangala to his Sarjapura office.
Even the traffic cops who man the junction say motorists skidding off their motorbikes is a common occurrence.We cant be filing cases every time such minor accidents occur, said a constable trying to control chaos near the Marathalli flyover.
The problems arent just confined to motorists.The plight of pedestrians too is quite pathetic.I prefer to use public transport because I cant drive through the madness.Yet,even crossing the road can be stressful, says Vandana Patnaik,a mother of two who works in a firm on the stretch.
She has a point since there are no skywalks and none are being planned either on the entire stretch.Crossing the road can be risky.
We found a number of pedestrians risking life and limb to get to work as motorists refused to give way.But it cant be helped because there is nobody to help, says Vishal Mehta,another techie.
Sames the case at Marathahalli and KR Puram as well.
At the KR Puram suspension bridge,a huge crater of a pothole slows down even Volvo buses.A couple of months ago,they patched up the other potholes,but that has made life even more miserable because it has made the stretch uneven, says Aneesh Kamath,who drives his Scorpio to work.
Cross the IT corridor towards BEL factory,and the sand-laden trucks make life miserable.The situation gets a little better as we hit Laggere and Nayandahalli and cross the final resting place of cine star Dr Rajkumar at the Kanteerava Studios.
But when you approach Mysore Road,your stress levels go through the roof as you try and cross the stretch.
After an exhausting drive,we can safely conclude the administration has a lot of catching up to do.
87 ACCIDENTS IN A YEAR
The estimated passenger car units (PCU) on the Outer Ring Road are 20,000.Of these,35% are estimated to be two-wheelers.The major police stations on the stretch are KR Puram,HSR Layout,Mahadepura,Hulimavu,Parappana Agrahara and Hennur.In the last one year,the total number of accidents put together from all these police stations is 87.
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