PM presses the go button for B’lore Metro, 10-lane e-way

PM presses the go button for B’lore Metro, 10-lane e-way

The Rs 6,300-crore Metro Rail project and Rs 765-crore elevated expressway are expected to ease chronic traffic jams in the IT city

Mumbai Mirror

Bangalore: Bangalore's infrastructure received a major boost on Saturday with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laying the foundation stone for the much-delayed Bangalore Metro Rail project and the multi-corridor elevated expressway here.

Both the projects are expected to easy the chronic traffic jams that the city has become synonymous with over the last few years.

The Rs 6,300-crore Metro Rail project, which has been in the pipeline for more than a decade, will have two corridors covering 32 kms across the city and carry more than eight lakh passengers daily after it is completed.

Work on the Metro Rail is expected to commence in August this year and the project will be completed by 2009.

Underlining the UPA government's commitment to propel Bangalore into the league of global cities, Singh said, "This visit carries a lot of significance as it signals the beginning of work on a number of major infrastructure projects that will benefit Bangalore."

The elevated expressway, which was the other project launched by the Prime Minister, is part of a 10-lane multi-corridor that will link Bangalore proper to the Electronics City, the IT hub on the city outskirts.

The expressway will have four elevated lanes propped up by 250 pillars. Running along the 9.5 km expressway will be a six-lane road on the ground level.

The Rs 765-crore corridor is expected to be ready by July 2008.

Traffic snarls on the 9-km stretch to the Electronics city, where up to 70,000 vehicles ply during peak hours, ensure that it takes about one and a half hours for software professionals to drive down to work.

Commuters will have to pay a toll for using the expressway, which will make it possible for them to cover the distance between Bangalore and the Electronics city within 15 minutes.