Magadi Road underpass to be ready in 10 months

Magadi Road underpass to be ready in 10 months

The Hindu

Traffic diversions, one-way rule cause chaos in Vijayanagar


BANGALORE: Traffic nightmares have resumed for motorists coming from Vijayanagar, Chandra Layout, and Kamakshipalya to the Central Business District. Citizens from these areas may have to endure the chaos and one-ways for at least 10 more months because work on the Magadi Road-West of Chord Road grade separator has started.

With all traffic coming from Vijaynagar, Chandra Layout and Mysore Road diverted to the service road running parallel to the Vijaynagar Main Road and the 1st Main Road in Agrahara Dasarahalli (next to Veeresh cinema), commuting through the Magadi Road Toll Gate junction has become a nightmare.

Work incomplete

The incomplete work on the Magadi Main Road has added to the problem. The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), which had started work on upgrading the Magadi Main Road in May, stopped it midway as the engineers had taken up asphalting before taking up civil work on the side drains and medians. Although road upgradation work had resumed this month, vehicle users were forced to use only half the road as the other half was yet to be asphalted. This led to a rise in the number of accidents on the road because two-wheelers tend to skid during rains.

Citizens from these areas, who had been coping with chaotic traffic for two-and-a-half years, heaved a sigh of relief when the grade separators at Rajajinagar and Modi Hospital Road-West of Chord Road junction were inaugurated early this year. With work on the second box of the Nehrunagar Railway Under Bridge (RUB) and the Anand Rao Circle flyover taken up simultaneously, motorists coming from Rajajinagar, Vijayanagar and Magadi Road side towards Majestic and Shivajinagar had waited eagerly for smooth traffic movement.

No delay

A senior official from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is executing the Magadi Road-West of Chord Road underpass, said that work on this project would be completed within the stipulated time. Work had started last month and would be completed by May next year, the official said.

Being built at at a cost of Rs 31.86 crore, this project was a four-lane underpass with two carriageways. It would be similar to the Modi Road-West of Chord Road underpass after completion, the official said.

The project, which had been entrusted to East Coast Construction Company of India, would be executed by using the pre-cast fabrication method to ensure that traffic flow was not severely affected during construction.

Vehicle movement at the Magadi Road Toll Gate junction is heavy with the morning hour passenger car per unit (pcu) being 12,707 and evening hour pcu being 13,684.

The project, which was expected to reduce the pcu to 3,645, would not only facilitate smooth flow of traffic but also reduce the travel time of commuters, the official added.