Yelahanka -Doddaballapur Road to get Facelift

BBMP says No to TDR bank, but YES to road widening

If your house in the outskirts of the city is earmarked for acquisition for road widening, then there's cause for worry. BBMP has taken up 13 roads in the outskirts for widening this year.

In all, 13 roads have been notified for widening in the year 2012-13, but the budget copy mentions the names of only 10 roads. Budget maker, tax and finance committee chairman KA Muneendra Kumar refused to give details on the other three roads in the outskirts identified for widening.

In last year's budget, BBMP declared that a TDR bank would be set up, where only BBMP would have the right to purchase and sell TDRs. However, the action taken report issued along with the budget copy clearly says the TDR bank will not be set up. "The pros and cons of establishment of the TDR bank was discussed and it was decided not to go ahead with the project," the action taken report reads.

"We know the public is unwilling to take up TDR in lieu of compensation, but road widening is inevitable," said mayor D Venkatesh Murthy.

It may be recalled that there have been cases where touts have been operating in Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones, wherever road widening is going on. In the absence of a TDR bank, the middlemen are buying properties notified for acquisition from property owners for a pittance, and have been cheating both BBMP and property owners.

Asked how BBMP would take up road widening without a TDR bank, Muneendra Kumar said, "It does not require a TDR bank to go ahead with road widening."

"The budget should have details on BBMP's plans of road widening across the city. There is no respite for more than 3 lakh property owners whose properties have been notified for acquisition. When TDR is not being accepted by the public, what are the other options left before BBMP? These issues should have been said in the budget. There is a lack of transparency," said MK Gunashekar, opposition ( Congress) party leader in the BBMP council.

BROADER ROADS

• Ring Road from Bannerghatta Road to Silk Board junction left and right sides
• Halagevaderahalli and Panthara Palya Road
• Abbigere-Lakshmipura Road
• Chikkabanavara Ganigara Halli to Somashetty Halli
• Thindlu to Nanjappa Circle
• Thindlu to Syndicate Bank
• Tannery Road
• Vidyaranyapura Road
• Begur Road
• Mission Road

Flagging of Namma Metro trial run conducted on 27th June 2012 Video

Decongesting B’lore: Commuter rail gains traction

A RITES REPORT SAYS URBAN PLANNING HAS THE MECHANISM TO DISPERSE POPULATION AND ENSURE THAT NO LOCATION GETS DENSELY POPULATED

Taking a long-term and holistic approach to not just decongest Bangalore’s roads, but to discourage migration of people to the city from peripheral districts, the Rail India Technical and Economical Services (RITES) has presented commuter rail system (CRS) as an effective transport option.

The RITES, in its report submitted to the directorate of urban land transport, said that although most city planners do not look at the rail system as a solution to its problems, or consider it in their plans, “the inherent advantages and large potential of railway as a suburban/ urban transport system cannot be ignored.”

While countering the traffic problems in the city, CRS tries to address it by taking rail to neighbouring districts, while Metro concentrates only at commuting in the core areas of the city, the report said. 

According to the report, urban planning has the mechanism to disperse population and ensure that no location gets densely populated beyond manageable levels. “While the first step towards this is building roads, beyond certain distance

it becomes impractical as they take unacceptably high journey times. The CRS has major potential in this regard.” Although the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) has investment plans to the tune of `73,300 crore up to 2031 (according to its structural plan, which is yet to be approved by the government), this does not include rail.

Metro vs CRS
CRS will have 3.3 times the capacity of Metro. The capacity of a broad gauge coach is 26% more on account of width  alone. Length of CRS trains is also much more than that of Metro, which is fixed at six coaches.

A suburban train can have up to 27 coaches. A metro train usually runs 20 trains per hour. With only six paths being cleared every hour, a suburban rail will be able to reach the same capacity of Metro.

While Metro costs about `250 crore per km for an elevated track and at least `400- `500 crore for underground tracks, a commuter rail costs just about `15 crore to `20 crore.

Day 1 Metro Reach-3 Trial Run

Tired of waiting, techies create their own MMTS in the city

With a dexterous mix of autos, buses and trains, they succeeded in cutting travel time to office

Trust the Bangalore techies to innovate. Some of them are not waiting for the government to launch multi-modular transport service (MMTS) in the city. They have informally started their own version of MMTS, and it is working.

For the uninitiated, MMTS is a mix of transport services for better travelling in the city. Hyderabad, considered as Bangalore’s rival city, introduced it 10 years ago.

This is how Manmohan K, a techie working in Mahadevapura, is making MMTS work for him. “From my home in Rajajinagar, I take a bus or auto to Majestic. That hardly takes 20 minutes. From Majestic, I take the Bangalore-Arakkonam passenger train at 9.20 am and reach K R Puram Railway Station at 9.50 am.

“The ticket costs 2. Then, I take a bus to my office near Mahadevapura Ring Road. My journey time is one hour, compared to two hours by bus or one-and-a-half hours by cab. The cost is just 60.”

Anil Joseph, a techie who works in ITPB, takes the same train from Majestic to Whitefield to reach his office. “I save 60 to 90 minutes of travel time by using different modes of transport.” Also, the ticket from Majestic to Whitefield costs him just 4.

To avoid queues at railway stations, the duo buy monthly passes.

While techies working at ITPB use Chennai-line trains, those heading towards Electronics City use Hosur-bound trains.

Girish Babu says, “I use the Bangalore City-Salem passenger train, which leaves Majestic at 7.15 am and reaches Heelalige at 8.04 am, all for 5 ticket. From the station, I take an auto or bus to head to Electronics City. My commute is really peaceful.”

He wishes there were more trains that techies like him could avail of, in the evenings.

Railways to double tracks by 2014 LINE

The Railways will complete doubling of tracks between Bangalore and Mysore by 2014. Announcing this, Union minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa said there were land acquisition hurdles which were resolved.

"This route has become busier by the day. At present, around 25,000 people travel between these two cities by train on a daily basis," he said.

A total of 138 km of track has to be doubled and is sanctioned in three phases - Bangalore to Kengeri (12km), Kengeri to Ramnagaram (32 km) and Ramnagaram to Mysore (94 km). Although these works were sanctioned between 2003 and 2008, work never started because of right of way issues in Mandya. Muniyappa said the work is going on full swing. "Fifty acres of land has to be acquired in Mandya district. The work was supposed to be complete by 2011. The delay is attributed to land issues," he said.

He also said that shortage of funds from the ministry of railways is a reason why multiple rail projects are yet to be taken up in the state. He said that when the SWR requires Rs 210 crore for works related to the state, they get only Rs30 crores as funds. Last year the SWR was sanctioned Rs 60 crore only.

Bangalore Metro: Test run for Green line train to begin in Peenya depot

There is some hope for North Bangaloreans, as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) gears up for testing the trains in its northern depot. The BMRC is beginning to charge the tracks in Peenya depot and test the three rakes on these tracks.

"The test track will be charged on Wednesday and trial runs will be commenced shortly," said a official from BMRC, in charge of northern corridor. However, rumours did rounds till Tuesday morning that the chief minister has announced the trial runs between Rajajinagar and Peenya from Wednesday.

"The report is wrong. The trial run is in the depot and not on the main line. The trains are tested in the test track in depot first. The train systems and traction power systems will undergo elaborate tests for the next three months," N Sivasailam, managing director, BMRC, said clearing all rumours.

There are three rakes supplied by the BEML from their Bangalore factory near Baiyappanahalli, for the tests and trials, until now. These trains are bordered with green bands, as a part of the colour code of the corridor. The north-south corridor is called the Green line.

The Peenya depot has the longest testing track of 1.2 km, more than what the Baiyappanahlli track has. Not just trial runs, even static tests will be performed once the tracks are charged. The static tests include opening of the doors and electrical connections working in tandem inside the coaches. The motion tests will include the running of the trains, speed and distance brake tests.

The line will be charged up by 750 dc power, drawn from the Peenya sub station. The engineers will charge the line and keep monitoring whether the line is able to take the load and if that cause any other power disruptions in the depot. These tests will take some time.

This is one step towards the commissioning of the northern corridor, running between Malleswaram and Peenya, called the Reach 3. There are 9 stations-Malleswaram, Srirampura, Kuvempu road, Rajajinagar, Mahalakshmi, Soap Factory, Yesvanthpur, Yesvanthpur Industry and Peenya.

However, the litigations pertaining to the Malleswaram station, Srirampura railway over bridge and Soap Factory stations, could delay the commissioning of the line. Earlier, the BMRC expected to start the commercial operations in the northern line by end of 2012.

The South Western railway alone has dragged the BMRC to two litigations regarding the station construction on Sampige road, adjacent to the Mantri Mall and a clearance to be given for a span construction over the Srirampuram rail line. The soap factory litigation has held work at this place for over 10 months and BMRC has kept saying that they would try to finish the work as fast as possible.

A person residing in the land where the station was to be built had petitioned against BMRC over the land acquisition, which was ultimately dismissed by the apex court in May.

Update of the Bannerghatta Road NICE junction

NICE rouses B'lore-Mysore infra project on tough SC order

After nearly two years in limbo, work on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor may begin soon. CNBC-TV18's Vineetha Athrey reports that Bharat Forge-backed NICE (Nandi InfrastructureCorridor Enterprises), which was forced to halt work literally months away from completion due to land acquisition problems, has begun hunting for funds again.
A fresh round of talks has been initiated with a host of private equity firms, including Goldman Sachs, for the 164-km-long tolled expressway project.
Sources say that the target is to raise USD 500 million in two tranches - one of USD 200 million and another of USD 300 million. Of this, USD 200 million will be used to complete a 38-km expressway and two townships.
The additional USD 300 million will be used to develop a cricket stadium, exhibition centres, shopping complexes and power-and-water utilities. This renewed vigour is all thanks to the Supreme Court's recent directive to various stakeholders of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructire Corridor, to complete the project on a fast track.
NICE is now confident that the first phase can be completed in the next three-to-four months and plans to start the second phase immediately after. Sources say NICE is busy working out a suitable valuation for the second phase of the Rs 1.75-lakh crore project and expects to close the deal within the next two months.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/nice-rouses-blore-mysore-infra-projecttough-sc-order_716942.html

BIAL T1 Expansion Update

Light rail system passes soil test

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, said to be the best feeder rail network for Bangalore city when compared to monorail, has passed another test.

Sources in the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) told Media that recently completed soil testing study, conducted as part of detailed project report (DPR) for LRT, has found no fault with the corridor wherein the feeder rail is proposed to be implemented.

“Soil testing was done at 40 different points along the length of two corridors proposed under LRT and the results are positive,” said a senior official with IDD. Soil testing, which began in JP Nagar in the month of April got completed a few days ago, he added.

LRT is proposed to be implemented for a total distance of 41.3 km in two corridors, namely from JP Nagar to Hebbal (31.3 km) and from Toll Gate on Magadi Road up to proposed Peripheral Ring Road (10 km) on Magadi Road. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 6,400 crore.

Capita Symonds - the UK-based consultancy firm for property and infrastructure solutions to which the State government had assigned the job of suggesting the best feeder rail network for the City - considered LRT more advantageous than monorail.

The Bangalore Airport Rail Link (BARL) Ltd, the nodal agency for implementing the project, is expecting the DPR to be ready in the next three months.
Speaking to Media, BARL Director (Projects) C Jayaram confirmed that soil testing exercise has been completed.

Now the executing agency will estimate the maximum land to be acquired for implementing the project. However, as the proposed corridor for LRT is mostly along the existing roads, there won’t be much problem in land acquisition, he added.

An official from BARL said the alignment of LRT is in tune with the Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan. LRT intersects the Metro corridor and other mass rapid systems for better connectivity. Also, LRT network was drawn up after a detailed analysis of the Comprehensive Development Plan 2015, traffic density and a field survey, he added.

Eureka! New way to widen Sankey Rd

The BBMP will begin work on widening the Sankey Tank Bund Road (STBR) by June-end; it has plans to erect pillars on the embankment on the Vyalikaval, Gayathridevi Extension and Kodandapura side to support the widened section. This means that the widened part of the STBR, when ready, will resemble a flyover, while the existing part of the road will continue  to remain as it is.

The road widening plan entails extending the existing 14- metre width of the road to 27 metres. But as Sankey Lake is on one side of STBR, the widening will have to be carried out on the embankment side, below which stand several well-known structures including the violinshaped Chowdiah Memorial Hall and Venkateshwara Temple owned by Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD).

BBMP officials said this style of road widening plan (using pillars on one side of the road) has been suggested by scientists at the civil engineering department of Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The members of the BBMP’s technical advisory board were impressed by it. “We have sought help from IISc’s civil engineering department, and professor Srinivas Murthy, who is on the technical advisory committee of the BBMP’s road widening board, has suggested a few ideas to address some of the issues we thought we would face,” BT Ramesh, engineer-in-chief, BBMP, told Media.

Initially, the BBMP had planned to use the landfill technique, which seemed feasible idea. That plan involved filling up 10 feet with soil/mud on the embankment to raise the to-bewidened portion to the level of the existing STBR and then use concrete to strengthen the road. However, it failed when experts suggested that such a method could lead to water leakage from Sankey Lake through cracks developing in the bund, and that could spell disaster for the residents and structures on the residential side of the structure. Vyalikaval, Gayathridevi Extension and Kodandapura, the areas on the other side of the lake are low-lying,densely populated areas.

“Now, we have planned to use a technique that we normally use for flyovers. Pillars and reinforcement panels will be used  to widen the 800-metre-long stretch (by 13 metres) from Bashyam Circle (Sadashivnagar) to the end of STBR near Ayyappa Temple (the entrance to Malleswaram—on the left—
leading to 18th Cross bus stand). This plan was suggested by the advisory panel (on being advised by the IISc scientists) and we are looking into this plan as very feasible,” said KT Nagraj, superintendent engineer, BBMP.

Being cautious However, before a flyover-like part-structure is built on the embankment, a series of tests are scheduled before the actual construction begins. The STBR is a man-made structure, built in 1882, to develop an artificial lake that is today named Sankey Tank. Because of this, there is some degree of apprehension about the safety of the pillars that are planned to be erected on the STBR’s embankment. Therefore, the BBMP will begin by conducting soil and load-bearing tests to first determine what kind of pillars could be erected and with what material (metal or concrete). 

After prolonged protests, beginning August 2011, to save trees on the embankment—17 have been felled while at least 36 more remain to be axed—a high court division bench headed by Justice N Kumar had directed the BBMP, in December 2010, to complete the STBR road widening work within 12 months.

However, even after six months, no work has started. The announcement to begin work on widening STBR was made on Tuesday at the Janaspandana programme by Mayor Venkatesh Murthy.

Artificial lake
Sankey Tank Bund Road was constructed by Col Richard Hieram Sankey of the Madras Sappers Regiment in 1882 to create an artificial lake to meet the water supply demand of Bangalore then. The STBR also served as the shortest possible way to connect Vyalikaval, Malleswaram and Sadashivnagar when these areas began developing into residential areas, which at the time of STBR being built were forests.

One-way stretch coming on Mysore Rd

From next month, motorists coming from Mysore to Bangalore must turn left towards Vijaynagar to take the new flyover

From next month, going to Mysore from Bangalore will be easier when compared to the return journey. Reason: The stretch between Gali Anjaneya temple and BHEL Circle on the Mysore Road will be turned into a one-way after the completion of the flyover built across a drain near the temple.

Motorists coming from Mysore would have to take a left turn towards the West of Chord Road (Vijaynagar) and then right onto the flyover to head towards the satellite bus stand on Mysore Road. Motorists heading to Mysore from Vijaynagar too can't directly reach the BHEL Circle. They must take the flyover and then turn right towards Mysore Road.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Major Road Standing Committee chairman Sridhar Reddy said, “This is a long-pending project which has seen many hurdles. During the rainy season, drain water used to enter the Anjaneya temple.”

He said work on the project has been taken up on a war-footing for the past two months.

“Hardly 10 per cent of the work is pending on the project, which is expected to be completed by this month-end,” he said, adding that traffic will be allowed on the flyover from
the first week of July.

BBMP engineer-in-chief B T Ramesh said, “The work is on 24/7 for the past two weeks. It is a major stretch connecting Vijaynagar and Mysore Road. The stretch, from Gali Anjaneya temple to BHEL Circle, will be declared a one-way.”

Work on the project, which was taken up in 2006, was estimated to cost around Rs 18 crore, which was then increased to Rs 20 crore. “The delay in execution has made the BBMP revise the estimate to Rs 25 crore,” he said.

The standing committee members also inspected work on Mysore Road, which has been delayed. It was brought to the notice of Sridhar Reddy that Bescom and BWSSB were delaying in shifting the utilities, for which the BBMP had paid them a year ago.

Reddy directed his officials to ask the two agencies to ensure that work is completed on priority.
 

BIAL to start work on runway-II in Q1 of 2013

The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which runs the Bengaluru International Airport, hopes to start work on the second runway of the airport by Q1 of 2013. BIAL is now in the process of expanding the airport by doubling the capacity of the airport terminal building. The masterplan for expansion of the airport has been budgeted at Rs 1,200 crore. “About 75 per cent of the cost of the expansion is being funded via debt, and rest from internal accruals,” said Hari Marar, president-airport operations, BIAL.

“Bangalore airport sees the third highest domestic traffic in the country after Mumbai and Delhi, making it the busiest in south India,” Sanjay Reddy, MD of BIAL, had said in a statement earlier. BIAL said, its domestic traffic was 10.24 million in 2011 (with the December figures).

BIAL’s passenger traffic grew 11.66 per cent in 2011 on a year-on-year basis. Aircraft movement rose 7 per cent.

The airport had seen 116,851 aircraft movements and handled 12.53 million passengers (both domestic and international) during 2011. The airport, at present, handles over 350 aircraft movements and services and around 35,000 passengers per day. Since it opened in 2008, it has grown 54 per cent, which it said is above the national average. Its annual cargo tonnage has grown at 5 per cent.

The Hyderabad-based GVK group has a 43 per cent stake in BIAL. Siemens Projects Ventures holds 26 per cent and Unique Zurich has 5 per cent. The remaining 26 per cent is divided between state-owned entities, Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation and Airports Authority of India.

BIAL is among the five privately-owned airports in India. Besides Delhi and Mumbai, others are Hyderabad and Kochi.

The GVK group is also majority owner of Mumbai international airport.

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Pre-feasibility report on Construction of elevated corridor between Jnanabharathi and Old Airport Road

The project envisages developing an elevated road corridor between Jnanabharathi and Varthurkodi. The alignment will largely follow the existing roads connecting the two points and will act as an alternate means of transit between the two points. The identified alignment (Jnanabharathi junction to Varthurkodi) carries heavy local and commercial traffic owing to the industrial and commercial development along the corridor. The Nayandahalli junction is congested with vehicles entering Bangalore city from Mysore viz SH-17, thus adding to the chaos along this network. The proposed corridor is envisaged to ease the traffic flow and result in unhindered traffic movement along this route.

Components of the Project
The construction of elevated corridor along the identified alignment will include the following:
• Widening of roads
• Improvement of junctions
• Pavement improvement
• Provision and relocation of concealed drainage under the pavements on either side of the roads
• Upgrade of 4 lane carriageways
• Overlay treatment
• Provision of crash barriers
• Road and overhead signage

The proposed Elevated corridor from Jnanabharathi to Varthurkodi entails a stretch of 28 kms along the ring road from Tumkur to Mysore. The elevated corridor is proposed to start from the Jnanabharathi (A) and connect to Varthurkodi via Sirsi circle (B), Town Hall (C), Hudson circle (D), Vellara junction (E), and Old Airport Road (F). 

Cost Estimation
The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 2800 crores. The costs have been outlined below:

Revenue streams
The revenues to the developer will accrue in the form of an annuity payment spaced over the concession period. The estimated base annuity amount works out to be approximately Rs. 21500 lakhs. This annuity amount would be escalated by 5% every year.   

Viability assessment
The viability assessment has been carried out over two concession period i.e. 20 years and 25 years.The debt to equity ratio has been assumed to be 3:1. Additionally, it is assumed that the project will be able to access the central and state government viability gap funding (VGF) to the tune of 40% of the project cost (20% from central and 20% from state). The viability based on the annuity structure has been depicted below. The project level internal rate of return (IRR), IRR of equity and the net present value of the equity have been worked out:

It is evident that for the concession period of 25 years, the project would be more attractive for a private developer since the project level IRR is roughly 15% while the equity IRR is pegged at 18%. The net present value (NPV) of the equity is also positive for the said concession period.

 

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Pre-feasibility report on Construction of elevated corridor between Central Silk Board Junction and Jayamahal Road

The project envisages developing an elevated road corridor between Central Silk Board Junction and Jayamahal Road. The alignment will largely follow the existing roads connecting the two points and will act as an alternate means of transit between the two points. The identified alignment (Central Silk Board on NH-7 to Jayamahal road) carries heavy local and commercial traffic owing to commercial developments along the corridor and development of the new international airport beyond the alignment. The proposed elevated corridor is envisaged to ease the traffic flowing between Electronic city and Hebbal and areas intersecting the corridor.

 

Components of the Project
The construction of elevated corridor along the identified alignment will include the following:
• Widening of roads
• Improvement of junctions
• Pavement improvement
• Provision and relocation of concealed drainage under the pavements on either side of the roads
• Upgrade of 4 lane carriageways
• Overlay treatment
• Provision of crash barriers
• Road and overhead signage  

The proposed Elevated corridor entails a stretch of 15kms from Central Silk Board on NH-7 to Jayamahal road viz Audugodi road, Vellara junction, Museum road, Mahatma Gandhi Square, Queens Square, Millers Road and Cantonment.

 

Cost Estimation
The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1500 crores. The costs have been outlined below:

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Pre-feasibility report on Construction of elevated corridor between Benniganahalli and Mekhri Circle

The project envisages developing an elevated road corridor between Benaganahalli and Mekhri Circle. The alignment will largely follow the existing roads connecting the two points and will act as an alternate means of transit between the two points. The identified alignment (Benniganahalli to Mekhri circle) is characterized by mixed land-use development on either side and caters to traffic flow from the city towards the new international airport.

Components of the Project

The construction of elevated corridor along the identified alignment will include the following:

• Widening of roads,

• Improvement of junctions,

• Pavement improvement

• Provision and relocation of concealed drainage under the pavements on either side of the roads

• Upgrade of 4 lane carriageways

• Overlay treatment

• Provision of crash barriers

• Road and overhead signage

The proposed Elevated corridor from  Beniganahalli to Mekhri circle entails a stretch of 15k connecting the new airport road on National Highway 4 (NH4). The elevated corridor is proposed to connect Beniganahalli (A) to Mekhri circle (F) via Dickenson’s road (B), Wheelers road (C), Cantonment (D) and T. V. Tower (E). 

Cost Estimation
The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1500 crores. The costs have been outlined below:

M.G. Road-Byappanahalli stretch to be concreted

Probably in a year, the stretch between Mahatma Gandhi Road and Byappanahalli will be “white-topped” (concreted). The 7-km stretch will be developed and upgraded jointly by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL).

According to a senior BBMP official, the detailed project report (DPR) for the Rs. 64-crore project is being prepared by Bangalore City Connect Foundation. The DPR is likely to be submitted to the BBMP on Friday.

The official said the project would include concreting the road and upgrading of the pavements and drains. The project cost would be shared between BBMP and BMRCL on 50:50 basis. “Once the DPR is submitted to the BBMP, we will float tenders if the project has the government's ‘in-principle administrative approval'. The work orders will be issued to the selected contractor within three months after that,” he said.

He also said the work would be taken up in phases. “M.G. Road being an arterial road, we cannot close the entire stretch. The work will be taken up on one part of the road [at a time]. Vehicular movement will be diverted for at least 20 days during the curing process,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the BBMP has identified 45 roads (a total of 73 km) in the core city area to be developed under Tender SURE (Specification for Urban Road Execution). The city connect foundation is preparing the DPR for 12 roads, while the civic body has entrusted six agencies to prepare the DPR for the remaining 33 roads.

In October 2011, the government and the city connect foundation, in a public-private initiative, brought out two volumes on Tender SURE as a single-point reference for design, procurement and execution of urban roads

Bannerghatta Road will turn one-way

The traffic police will take some quick-fix measures on Outer Ring Road and Bannerghatta Road to minimise traffic chaos on these busy stretches. On Bannerghatta Road, the stretch between Sagar Hospital Junction and Old Gurappanapalya Junction will be turned into a one-way. The stretch between Sagar Junction and Swagath Road/East Road Junction will be turned into a one-way. Police have chalked out alternative routes. The changes will come into effect from June 16.

On Outer Ring Road, the police have banned right turn at Nagawara Junction where close to 5,000 cars entering Manyata Tech Park blocked traffic on the main road. Vehicles heading to the tech park will now have to take a U-turn further ahead under the Eranapalya Flyover. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem said the changes have been made after a detailed survey. “Both ORR and Bannerghatta Road handle heavy traffic. During peak hours, Bannerghatta Road handles close to 20,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) per hour. There is intense commercialisation here and lorry traffic has gone up on ORR,” he said. The police pointed out that the Sagar Hospital Junction on Bannerghatta Road vehicles had to wait for three rounds of signal before clearing the traffic bottleneck. This is because the 1 km stretch between Sagar Junction and Old Gurappanapalya Junction is just 40-foot wide. Three IT majors, Oracle, IBM and Accenture, hospitals and marriage halls are located on this stretch causing traffic jams. “You cannot widen the road anymore. But these solutions will ease movement of traffic on these stretches,” Mr Saleem said.

State bets big on PPP model

The state government on the first day of the two-day Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) on Thursday mooted a plan to develop all infrastructure projects under public-private partnership (PPP) models. Most of these projects are focused on Bangalore, costing a total of `44,256 crore.

Considering the volume of investments that would be required to take up the projects  under PPP model, principal secretary of infrastructure development, Rajkumar Khatri, while addressing a session on transport and infrastructure at GIM, said there were many avenues available in the city for private investors to invest
in the state. However, Vishwas Udgirkar, a senior director of Deloitte, who dwelt on the present status of investments in the infrastructure and the scope for investors under the PPP model to develop roads in the state, said that although an annual investment of `41,899 crore was required, 2011-12 saw only `19,065
crore invested in the road development sector.

He said $27.78 billion was required to build roads in the state. The state government has identified 39 roads having length of 3,600 km for the PPP model. The projects listed for investment potential under the PPP model include the much talked about high-speed rail link from Bangalore to Mysore, monorail from JP Nagar to Hebbal, high-speed rail link to BIA, inter-nodal transit centre at Majestic bus stand, among others.
Khatri said, “We will receive expression of interest for PPP projects. As per the rule, investors have to bid for the projects. We will know how many investors are interested in PPP projects pertaining to infrastructural project only on the second day of the GIM (Friday).”

BIAL turns 4

SALIENT FEATURES OF PERIPHERAL RING ROAD

Total length of Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) : 116.00 kms
Phase-I:- Tumkur Road (NH-4) to Hosur Road (NH-7) crossing Bellary Road, Old Madras Road, Varthur Road for a length of 65 kms

PHASE-I

1. Corridor width (Right of Way-ROW) : 100 mtrs
2. Number of lanes : 8 Lanes (Divided carriageway) (4 Lane each direction) (4 lane 3.5 mtrs each=14 mtrs)
3. Central Median (Provision for Mono/Metro) : 12 mtrs
4. Provision for Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) between Service Road & Main carriage way : 5.50 mtrs on each side
5. Service Road (Both Sides) : 9 mtrs on each side
6. Width for utility corridor : 7.30 mtrs on each side
7. Major Junctions (Phase-I) : 10 Nos
8. Railway Crossings : 5 Nos
9. Inter Charges : At all the 10 major junctions
10. Drainage facilities : Adequate drainage facilities
11. Design Speed : 100/80 kmph
12. Design Standards : Indian Road Congress
13. Specifications : MoSRT&H
14. Pavement Type : Flexible Pavement (Bituminous)
15. Toll Plazas : Ten (10) locations.
16. Cost of the project :1750 crores

LAND ACQUISITION

• Phase-I : Net Extent: 1616 A 22.5 G Cost ` 1600 Crores
• Additional Land Notification Cost ` 330 Crores
• & Extent 372 A 26 G
• No of Villages : 63 Nos
• Final acquisition Notification for Phase-I : 29.06.2007
• Project is proposed to be taken up : On PPP basis.
• Request for Qualification is invited : On Global tender basis
• Request for qualification received : 10 agencies.

Major Junctions (Phase-I)

• Tumkur Road(NH-4) : CH:00.00 KM
• Hesaraghatta Road(SH) : CH:04.99 KM
• Doddaballapur Road(SH) : CH:15.08 KM
• Bellary Road (NH) : CH:19.30 KM
• Hennur Road : CH:26.25 KM
• Old Madras Road(NH-4) : CH:36.95 KM
• White field Road : CH:41.13 KM
• Hoskote-Anekal Road : CH:53.41 KM
• Sarjapur Road : CH:56.09 KM
• Hosur Road : CH:64.65 KM