BDA boots out UPSBC from Airport Road flyover project

Slowcoach firm loses Airport Road flyover contract
Work Will Be Awarded To 3rd Lowest Bidder; Job Must Be Over By June
The Times of India

Bangalore: The Airport Road flyover is just not getting off the ground. Due to be completed in April 2004, the deadline was pushed to March 2005, and now, taking the slow pace into account, a fresh deadline of June 2005 has been set. Completion seems a distant dream.

To hasten matters, the contractor has been given the marching orders. Highly placed sources in the government told The Times of India that the contractor — Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Construction Corporation Ltd — has not been able to meet the deadline as it has taken up two more projects simultaneously — Dairy Circle flyover, which was completed recently, and the ongoing Jayadeva Circle flyover.

The decision came about partly because the Dharam Singh government was unable to take the IT sector’s criticism on “crumbling infrastructure”, and also due to the number of delays.

The work will now be awarded to the third lowest bidder who had participated in the tender last year, as the second lowest bidder, Simplex Concrete Piles, has been awarded the Ananda Rao Circle flyover project.
But there is a rider: work will have to be completed by June 2005 —and at the same cost.

“Initially, the general elections held in April hampered work. Later, escalation in steel prices forced the authorities to take a decision on increase in the project cost, delaying work. Added to these were problems connected with shifting of utility lines,’’ officials explained.

The UP bridges company will be asked to hasten up work at least on the Jayadeva Circle flyover. The main bridge of the flyover is scheduled for completion by this month-end and the entire project in March 2005.
The Airport Road-Intermediate Ring Road (IRR) flyover with inter-change facility has unique features — there will be no signals and commuters can take easy left and right turns.

The flyover comprises a main ramp along with four loops which inter-connects Indiranagar, Koramangala ring road and Airport Road.

STATUS QUO?

• Airport Road flyover:
Work started in Feb. 2003. Deadline: April 2004. Revised deadline: March 2005. Fresh deadline: June 2005. Two grade level ramps ready.

• Bannerghatta Road flyover: Work started in Feb. 2003. Deadline: April 2004. Revised deadline: March 2005. Main ramp to be ready by month-end.

• Ananda Rao Circle flyover: Work started two months ago; slated for completion in Sept. 2005. Is a five-lane, undivided, one-way flyover up to Ananda Rao Circle; a twolane, one-way down ramp towards Basaveshwara Circle and four-lane, oneway flyover along Seshadri Road, crossing Ananda Rao Circle and Subbanna Circle. Project cost: Rs 24 crore.