Traffic jams will rule roads till Aug.

Traffic jams will rule roads till Aug.
Deadlines Of Three Flyover Projects Revised Yet Again; Work Still Far From Over
The Times of India

Bangalore: Three flyovers in three directions — two are in the process for the past 34 months and the third for 14 months. But Bangaloreans will have to live with jams, diversions and bad roads near the construction sites till at least August 2006.

Any commuter on Airport Road will vouch for the hardship. The ongoing flyover at the Airport Road-Ring Road junction is under construction since February 2003 and the deadline has been revised several times. The latest is August 15, before which BDA will open main ramp by April.

The delay, according to the BDA, is due to the intermittent lorry strike and the problem with the contractor. Also, the revised contract spiralled the costs.

The interchange on Airport Road comprises a main ramp along with four loops, which interconnect Indiranagar, Koramangala Ring Road and Airport Road. The junction currently handles 11,162 PCUs during morning peak hours and 10,821 PCUs during evening peak hours. According to a traffic survey, by 2022, the traffic increase would be as high as 26,913 PCUs.

Another delayed project, Bannerghatta Road flyover, has May 2006 as the latest deadline. The BDA opened the main ramp in February and has to complete work on the underpass connecting Bannerghatta Road to Dairy Circle and another arm from Ring Road to Bannerghatta Road, BDA engineers said.

The flyover at Ananda Rao Circle is expected to be completed by January. The circle was tough to handle as the traffic couldn’t be stopped during construction. What’s coming up is a five-lane undivided one-way flyover up to Ananda Rao Circle; a two-lane one-way down ramp towards Basaveshwara Circle and a fourlane one-way flyover along Seshadri Road crossing Ananda Rao Circle and Subbanna Circle. This apart, the BDA is planning steel flyovers at chaotic junctions and the first one will come up at Shantala Junction in Subhashnagar.

REVISIONS, REVISIONS!
Airport Road flyover: Work started in February 2003. Initial deadline April 2004, revised to March 2005, June 2005. Latest is August 2006. Bannerghatta Road flyover: Work started in February 2003, deadline April 2004, revised to March 2005. The main ramp operational in February. New deadline is May 2006. Ananda Rao Circle flyover:Work started in October 2004; November 2005 deadline revised to January 2006.