Govt. takes leave of its senses, plans three road on stilts

City to have 3 roads on stilts
Toll Ways Planned On Airport, Hosur, Bellary Roads
The Times of India

Bangalore: The thinking cap to place Bangalore on the global infrastructure map has been put on. And it has come up with a proposal to build three elevated toll roads, a la Bangkok, on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis. It will be completed in 30 months, just in time when the Devanahalli International airport too gets done.

Elevated toll roads, according to the proposal by R K Misra, a member of the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure and Traffic Management, have been planned on Airport Road, Hosur Road and Bellary Road/Tumkur Road. Chief secretary B K Das on Saturday directed infrastructure secretary Vinay Kumar to take up a feasibility study and return to the committee on Oct 28. Infrastructure Development Corporation of Karnataka (iDECK), which is a joint venture between the Karnataka government and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, will conduct the study. Vinay Kumar said, “It is a new idea and we are looking at it.”

The proposal was mooted at Saturday’s meeting of the committee, the second since it was formed. Sources said both the Bangalore City Corporation and Bangalore Development Authority are keen.

The elevated roads will have exit/entry ramps at important junctions to connect satellite towns with the Central Business District without congesting city roads.

The plan indicates that the Airport Road-Whitefield 12-km road over road will start at Trinity Circle and go up to Brookefield junction, with entry/exit ramps at 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, the Airport and Marathahalli Outer Ring Road.

The Hosur Road-Madivala 6-km elevated road will start at Vellara junction and go up to Silk Board junction and will have ramps at Koramangala.
The third elevated Road on Bellary Road will have two branches, one going to Hebbal and the other to Peenya. It will begin at Raj Bhavan and split at Mekhri Circle, and have ramps at Cauvery Theatre junction, Yeshwanthpur beyond IISc and may be one or two more ramps at important traffic junctions on Tumkur Road.

For funding and execution, it has been suggested that the government either float global tenders or use the Swiss Challenge Method to short list bidders.

In the Swiss Challenge Method, the government takes the feasibility report from the original proposer, fix it as the base and call for bids. If the bidders better the proposal, the original proposer will be given the right to refuse and match the bid.

If the original proposer cannot match it, the better bidder will take the project. Then, the original proposer will be paid the cost of conducting the feasibility report.