TAKING A FLIGHT?

TAKING A FLIGHT?
But when will you get there?
The frequent move to block the U-turn at Manipal Hospital on the already-choked Airport Road has only annoyed motorists. Are there any plans to decongest this stretch, which leads to many IT companies and a busy airport that handles the arrival and departure of 110 domestic and 8 international flights every day?

The Times of India

Bangalore: It takes 80 minutes to fly between Bangalore and Mumbai. But driving along the 5.3-km stretch from Trinity Circle on M G Road to the airport takes more time, thanks to more bottlenecks and gridlocks.
What adds to woes on the already congested road is the decision to close the U-turn at the Manipal Hospital junction every now and then and the narrowing of Airport Road at the Indiranagar flyover for construction of one of the loops. There are other reasons too — like VVIP convoys passing by frequently — say the traffic police. Even if the U-turn is allowed, there’s no respite for commuters.
The Airport Road has 11 intersections (see box) and a flyover, of which four intersections have signals, four are manned and two unmanned. This is where maximum delay is caused. If there is VVIP movement, it can only add to the chaos.
With a large number of IT/ITES companies coming up in the ITPB, traffic has increased on this road. The number of vehicles heading towards ITPB are more than those leading to the airport. This is another reason for the congestion, explains M A Saleem, DCP, traffic (east).
This four-lane road can take 4,400 PCUs (passenger car units) per hour. But, over 10,000 PCUs are using this road during peak hours, he says.
Construction of the flyover at Indiranagar 100 feet Road-Koramangala Intermediate Ring Road has taken over four years and is expected to be ready by January 2007. This was a bottleneck until the loop connecting Koramangala to Indiranagar came as a relief.
Another major obstacle on this road is movement of buses on this high density route. BMTC buses heading to ITPB and buses belonging to HAL, NAL, ISRO and ITPB occupy a major portion of the narrow road.
Not making things comfortable is the closure of Wind Tunnel Road to facilitate the construction of a culvert expected to be ready by January. Till such time, traffic towards Yemalur and surrounding areas has been diverted to Airport Road causing hardship, says Saleem. To beat it all, this stretch does not have a service road. Commercial establishments have sprung along the way leading to haphazard parking and other related problems.
Patients’ plight
Many patients who seek emergency medical attention on Airport Road, are delayed by heavy traffic.
In addition to the load of 9,000 passengers per car unit commuting on the road, there is an additional load of 1,000 patients that Manipal Hospital alone caters to. The hospital ambulances attend to around 70 emergency calls per day and transportation gets delayed considerably due to heavy traffic.
CONVOY TIME
A VVIP convoy needs 13 to 14 minutes to cover the distance between Airport and Raj Bhavan. But other motorists need more than 90 minutes to cover the distance
THE INTERSECTIONS
1 ASC Centre (signal) 2 Cambridge Road junction (signal) 3 Domlur Aralimara junction (manned) 4 Domlur Water Tank junction (manned) 5 Indiranagar 100 Ft Road junction (flyover) 6 Manipal Hospital junction (signal) 7 ISRO junction (signal) 8 Visvesvaraya College junction (unmanned) 9 Rajeshwari junction (unmanned) 10 Airport arrival junction (manned) 11 Airport departure junction (manned)
PEAK HOURS 8.30 am to 11 am & 5 pm to 8.30 pm
POLICE INITIATIVE
Private buses are banned on this road. They have to take Old Madras Road
Goods vehicles banned during peak hours
Intersections near Kodihalli (leading to KGA) and Murugesh Palya closed
When there is huge pile-up, Manipal Hospital intersection blocked for some time
HOW TO IMPROVE IT FURTHER
Expedite road-widening work on Suranjandas road which connects Old Madras Road to Airport Road. Once this is done, vehicles from north Bangalore to the airport can take this road and avoid the Trinity Circle route.
Expedite construction of culvert on Wind Tunnel Road
Have helipads in central business district and other areas to ferry VVIPs and top businessmen in helicopters
Discourage IT/ITES sector employees from using personal transport
Run point-to-point public transport system from and to airport