Indiranagar flyover project mired in delay

Indiranagar flyover project mired in delay

Vijay Times

Bangalore: Fifteen months after its foundation stone was laid, only one-third of the work on the prestigious Rs 26.69-crore flyover project at the intersection of Airport Road and the Intermediate Ring Road has been completed.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the contractor, Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Ltd (UPSBCL), are at loggerheads blaming each other for the delay in completing the work.
While the BDA accuses the UPSBCL of not being ‘aggressive’ in meeting the deadline, the contractor says the BDA is yet to approve the technical plan.

Sources say the UPSBCL is still to submit the technical design for the bridge and there is also the possibility of the BDA re-tendering the work to another contractor.
While the steep rise in the cost of steel is said to be the main reason for the delay in the construction, the UPSBCL blames other agencies for the slow progress.

After holding discussions with the authorities concerned, the State Government has now decided to release Rs 44 lakh for completing the project.
It is the commuters, who have since February, 2003, faced the brunt of crawling through the traffic snarls caused by the half-built flyover. Latest reports indicate it may take at least six months before the work is completed.
The project consists of a flyover on the Indiranagar-Koramangala Ring Road, four loops and two grade-level bridges. The project has 384 piles and 77 piers. Till date, 269 piles and 22 piers have been erected. Two grade-level bridges and two service roads have been built. The length of the flyover is 1.81 km, of which 440-metre of the main flyover will be built on the Koramangala-Indiranagar side.

UPSBCL Deputy Project Manager Garg told Vijay Times: “Everyone has been accusing us for the delay in executing the project without knowing that the BDA is yet to finalise the technical design. We have completed more than 1,600 other projects on time. We will not allow Bangaloreans to suffer. We don't have any financial difficulties. In the next two months, you will see a major change."

He says only one pier foundation is left for starting the flyover work from the Indiranagar side, the work on which will be completed in 45 days. The construction of the superstructure and commissioning of four loops will be taken up simultaneously.
“In the last 31 years we have not left any project incomplete. We are hopeful of completing this project by June 2005, if all the agencies concerned co-operate with us," he said.