Bangalore Airport phase-1 Expansion Nears Completion

NICE Link Road is now being Relaid with Cement Concrete

Bellandur Flyover second arm of flyover thrown Own

Light Rail Moves Closer to Reality

Trails on Metro Reach -3 Kicks off

600-crore funding row stalls mega transit centre

The financial bidder for the 1,800-cr project has sought a viability gap funding of 600 cr,but transport minister R Ashoka says its not an option for the govt;hopes the issue will be resolved soon 

The 45-floor Inter Modal Transit Centre (IMTC) at Majestic,which envisages bringing together different transport modes like BMTC,KSRTC,the Metro and the Railways under a single roof,is not likely to see the light of day anytime soon.Construction on the prestigious project was supposed to kick off last December,but has been delayed after a stand-off between the bidding firm and the state government over the issue of viability gap funding (VGF).While the firm wants the government to chip in with Rs 600 crore in VGF for the Rs 1,800-crore project,to come up over 32.5 acres,the state government has said VGF is not an option.

The company,which was the only one to come forward to implement the project under the PPP model,is asking for funding of Rs 600 crore,which is certainly not an option before us.We have told them so.They will be given commercial space on lease for 30 years.

However,talks are on and we are hopeful that the issue will be resolved and the project will kick off soon, R.Ashoka,deputy CM and transport minister,told  Media

The state government had proposed the IMTC project last year.Of the 40 acres owned by the government in the Majestic area,including BMTCs 20 acres,7.5 acres has been given to BMRCL and 32.5 acres was earmarked for the project.

The IMTC,whose proposed 45 floors may change depending on the allowed floor-area ratio (FAR),will be a state-of-the art structure housing transport modes and government offices,and is supposed to come up in an area of over 20 acres.The remaining 12 acres is proposed to be developed as a commercial area and will include shops,malls,eateries and entertainment outlets.As per the governments proposal,the commercial area would be leased to the firm under the PPP model for a period of 30 years for the latter to recoup its investment.

The project is estimated to be over Rs1,800 crore.Twelve companies were shortlisted,but only the Andhra Pradesh based Rithwik group submitted a financial bid.Later,the VGF issue cropped up and they have asked the state to fund Rs 600 crore.The matter is before the state government.

All these issues were brought up twice before the government and presented before two chief ministers.With both the stake- holders sticking to their positions,the project has not progressed though it was earlier set to start in December, a senior transport department official told Media.

An artists impression of the proposed inter-modal transit centre at Majestic

Mysore Rd flyover to shut down for maintenance work

The 2.6-km stretch of the Mysore Road flyover Town Hall to Sirsi Circle will be partially closed for nearly a week from Tuesday for periodic maintenance.

Traffic police,in its advisory,said work on replacement of expansion joints of the flyover has been entrusted to a private infrastructure company which will start work on five joints from Tuesday morning.Those entering the city from Mysore Road can use the other lane of the flyover, it said.

All vehicles moving out of the city should travel on the road below the flyover,to and fro, the traffic advisory stated.

Motorists can ply on the up-ramp of the flyover till Briand Square and come down on the ramp to proceed to Chamarajpet and join Mysore Road at Sirsi Circle.

The flyover was inaugurated 15 years ago and annual maintenance was due this year.

100m-long bottleneck will hit traffic

HEBBAL FLYOVER: Even Upgradation Has Failed To Address The Problem Of Narrow Stretch Between The Congested Flyover And Kempapura Entrance 

Be ready for a messier ride between Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and the city.The proposed plan to upgrade and widen Bellary Road leading to BIA has failed to iron out the problem created by a 100-metre-long bottleneck between Hebbal flyover and Kempapura entrance.

It is estimated that the daily traffic volume at Hebbal flyover,a crucial junction en route to BIA,will nearly double in a year.Currently,the flyover records a daily passenger car unit (PCU) of about 1.4 lakh,which is projected to cross the 2 lakh

 

figure in a year.The upgradation project taken up by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) between Hebbal flyover and BIA,however,has run into a landlock of sorts at the Kempapura entrance.The bottleneck is the consequence of a huge mismatch on either side of it: The Bellary Road stretch on BIA side is a 10-lane road expressway service roads,while,on the other side,eight lanes radiate towards the city.The situation will worsen once the upgradation work is completed: the BIA side stretch will become a 16-lane highway including an elevated six-lane corridor,but on the other side it will be a nine-lane affair with five lanes going up/down the flyover,two lanes from Tumkur Road side and two lanes towards the Outer Ring Road-KR Puram side.The bottleneck at the junction of the two stretches is about six lanes wide.Complicating the problem is the Hebbal flyover.The upgradation envisages adding one lane to the flyover towards BIA side,while there is no compensation lane in the reverse direction.All efforts to widen and ease the bottleneck have not gone beyond the drawing board as the stretch is locked with army land on one side and a cemetery on the other.The army is yet to agree to part with the land.The elevated expressway and the extra lane on the Hebbal flyover are expected to be finished and opened for commuters by April this year.But the persisting bottleneck has had the traffic police fearing chaos as the traffic density on the flyover almost doubles over the next year.Besides,the extra lane on the flyover will only benefit airportbound traffic. Traffic speeding from the BIA side on eight of the 16 lanes will have to squeeze into a six-lane narrow stretch at this bottleneck before moving on to the five lanes towards the city.It will be difficult for traffic policemen on the ground to manage the chaos, additional commissioner of police (traffic) MA Saleem said.

THE DENSITY 

1.4 lakh Passenger Car Units (PCU) is the current daily traffic volume at Hebbal flyover 2 lakh PCU is the projected figure in a year from now A passenger car unit comprises a car and is used to measure highway traffic volume.While two two-wheelers are considered equal to one car,larger vehicles are broken into a number of cars depending on their passenger capacity.

NOT A PRIDE ANYMORE 

Hebbal flyover was once considered the pride of Bangalore.But now that traffic grinds to a halt on the flyover every time a vehicle breaks down,it seems the flyover designers did not account for the future.Inaugurated in 2003,the flyover was built in a record 26 months at a cost of Rs 43 crore.It has four loops which add up to 5.23 km.A fifth lane is now being added to the loop descending towards Kempapura.The flyover bagged the first prize in 9th Outstanding Bridge National Awards competition given by Indian Institution of Bridge Engineers in 2005.

NO JOY RIDE: Hebbal flyover records a daily passenger car unit of 1.4 lakh,which is projected to cross the 2 lakh figure in a year