World Bank fund for city roads

World Bank fund for city roads
The World Bank is funding a major road development project in the city


There is some good news for Bangaloreans. Come May and a massive roadwork project will start, aimed at decongesting the much-strained roads in the city. The World Bank has agreed to fund US$30 million to Bangalore City Corporation under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project (KRMP). The money is in the BCC kitty, thanks to the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (KUIDFC), which is the nodal agency for KRMP.

Says BCC's Engineer-in-chief Rame Gowda, "the project will involve complete development of 41 roads in the city at a cost of Rs 140 crores and will be completed by December. There will be no overlapping of work with other projects of the Corporation and this time we will ensure that deadlines are met".

It may be noted here that many roads in the city are long due for a project of such scale. They have drawn flak from all quarters. The average PCU per hour has touched 8,000 and it is bumper-to-bumper traffic movement all the way throughout the day in some parts.
Giving further details, the Technical Advisor to BCC, Jaiprasad said, "we are going ahead with this project methodically. A detailed project report (DPR) has been carried out on all the roads in the city through private agencies. So, we divided the project into four packages as KMRP I, II, III and IV. The KMRP I will be taken up first, which comprises a cross section of roads across all the three zones that come under the purview of the BCC. We have already called and received the tenders and work will start by May".

Phase one
Under KMRP I, seven roads will be taken up for development with total length of 29 km that will cost Rs 32 crores. Subsequently, after the monsoon (September), other packages will be taken up. KMRP II will involve 14 roads of 46 km in the east zone and cost Rs 46 crores. While KMRP III covers six roads of 20 km costing Rs 20 crores in the west zone, KMRP IV will involve 14 roads measuring 44 km and would cost Rs 44 crores.

On the plans for development, the Executive Engineer of BCC Sidde Gowda says, "most roads in the city are not uniform. There are bottlenecks in some place. We are going to set this right first by making a uniform carriageway of four lanes, fit pre-cast drains and asphalt the roads. The project will involve increasing the lux value of lights, laying sidewalks, improving traffic junctions, and putting up medians aesthetically".

Adds Rame Gowda, "quite often we face the public's wrath for no fault of ours when it comes to cutting and digging of roads. This time we have called all the agencies that are involved in laying OFCs for a coordination meeting on this. We will notify them on the proposed project and the roads coming under the project, and tell them that no permission will be given to them for laying cables once the project starts for a period of 10 years. So they have to do the ducting well in advance for the next 10 years. We are confident that the BCC council will soon pass a resolution in this connection", says Rame Gowda.

The roads that are taken up for this project are not only the major arterial roads of the city but also connecting roads to the state, national highways and the Outer Ring Road. "We have designed the tenders in such a way that contractors who are involved in the project will stick to deadlines or will end up paying huge penalties to the BCC", he says.

Roads being developed

KMRP I
Road connecting Kammanahalli Main Road from Maruthi Seva Nagar to Outer Ring Road.
Road connecting Ejipura Main Road near Infant Jesus Church to Sarjapura Main Road via National Games Village.
Road from NR Square to Hosur Road via Mission Road, Blood Bank Circle and Langford Road.
Bannerghatta Road from Lasker Hosur Road to Outer Ring Road in JP Nagar III Phase.
Katriguppa Main Road from Outer Ring Road To Vidyapeeta Circle
Padarayanapura Main Road from Tank Bund Road To West of Chord Road
Magadi Road from Karnataka Bhavan to Sankadakatte via Jaimunirao Circle and Outer Ring Road.

KMRP II (East Zone)
Arterial Road connecting Jayamahal Road to Bellary Road (NH-7) via Matadahalli R T Nagar Main Road.
Shampura Main Road from Periyar Circle to Nagavara Road via Ambedkar Medical College.
Road from Cantonment Railway Station to outer boundary of CMC near Nagavara via Tannery Road.
Road from Netaji Road to road-over-bridge at Lingarajapuram.
Road connecting Old Madras Road and Maruthi Seva Nagar via Byappana Halli.
Road connecting Old Madras Road near Adarsha Theatre to Chinmaya Mission Hospital in Indiranagar. Sarjapura Main Road - from Hosur Road to Agara Lake including service roads. Service road adjacent to Teachers Colony from flyover junction at Hosur Road to Agara Lake. Richmond Road - from Richmond Circle to Trinity Circle. Residency Road - from Blood Bank Circle to Mayo Hall. St Mark's Road - from Cash Pharmacy to Oriental Circle, M G Road. Kasturba Road - from Hudson Circle to Cubbon Road, Minsk Square via Mahatma Gandhi Park. Banasvadi Road - from IOC Gate to NH via Ramamurthy Nagar. Hennur Main Road - from Lingarajapuram to Hennur Bande via Outer Ring Road.

KMRP III (West Zone)
Road connecting Shankaramutt to Magadi Road near Raheja Apartments via Havanur Circle.
West of Chord Road to Outer Ring Road via Mahalakshmi Layout Main Road and Nandini Layout.
Service roads of Magadi Road and Chord Road.
New BEL Road from M S Ramaiah Hospital to Outer Ring Road.
Link Road connecting Sanjaynagar Main Road and New BEL Road.
Sanjaynagar Main Road - from Bellary Road near Gangenahalli via Nagashettyhalli to Bellary Road.

KMRP IV (South Zone)
Arterial Road connecting Hosur Main Road (NH-7) to Outer Ring Road in BTM Layout Stage I.
Arterial Road connecting Outer Ring Road in BTM Layout to Bannerghatta Road.
9th Cross Road - from Bannerghatta Road to Kanakapura Road in J P Nagar.
45th Cross Road - from Bannerghatta Road to Kanakapura Road in Jayanagar.
Diwan Madhavan Rao Road - from South End Circle to Hosur Road via Madhavan Park and Ashoka Pillar.
Sevakshetra Road to Ring Road via 9th Main in Banashankari Stage II.
Bull Temple Road - from Briand Square on Mysore Road to Outer Ring Road Banashankari Stage III via Seetha Circle.
Main Road from Outer Ring Road to Uttarahalli Road.
Road connecting Outer Ring Road in Banashankari Stage III to Mysore Road via Girinagar.
Kanakapura Main Road - from Outer Ring Road to Konanakunte.
Nagarabhavi Main Road - from Vijaynagar Telephone Exchange to Outer Ring Road.
Uttarahalli Main Road - from Outer Ring Road to Ittumadu Main Road.
Byrasandra Main Road - from Hosur Road to 30th Cross in Jayanagar.
Madiwala Road from Hosur Road to Outer Ring Road.