Intl airport will be just a cruise away

Intl airport will be just a cruise away
The TImes of India

Bangalore: It’s about cutting a long story short. About a road that has been shrunk to cut travel time to the Bangalore International Airport.
A six-lane access controlled expressway with a design speed of 180 km is in the making and will take you there in just 15 minutes. The silk route, which will be no less than a runway, will, however, come at a price. It will be a toll road, notifications for which was issued on March 3.
By April 2008, the Bangalore International Airport will be operational. What was initially a 35-km stretch has now been trimmed to 21 km. And the new alignment has been frozen after a ground survey using satellite imagery.
While a 1.5 km elevated road from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) will put you on the path, the trumpet interchange at the other end will check you into the airport. The alignment for the Greenfield project: ORR - Bhairati - Kannuru - Chagalatti - Bagalur - Begur - Yerathagabihalli - BIA. This time around, the authorities have ensured that the route does not run into any village. Speaking to ‘The Times of India’, BMRDA commissioner Sudhir Krishna said: “The new alignment is an improvement over the earlier proposal. RITES and our engineers have drawn this new alignment. It runs almost along the old one, but in certain locations we have shortened and straightened the route as land undulation and geo-features didn’t pose impediments.’’
Travel time was a big minus, but now with the 15-minute express ride, this glitch has been addressed. The project will cost a whopping Rs 500 crore, which translates to Rs 23 crore a km, putting together cost of land acquisition. A major chunk of the amount will be spent on elevated roads, crossovers, interchanges and high quality roads of international standards. The authorities have already issued preliminary notification for the new alignment and marking stones have been erected. The authority, in its notification, has warned against any real estate development without the authority’s consent. Cruising to the airport will be a reality by December 2008. Being carried out on BOOT basis, tenders for the project will be invited in a month and project work will start shortly.
The project will put to rest the fears of widespread opposition from domestic passengers on shifting the domestic airport there. That’s not it!
Even BMRCL is planning a high speed metro rail from central business district to the international airport.
MAIN FEATURES
A 21-km access-controlled toll road
Six-lane road with elevated portions, inter-changes and crossovers
Project cost is Rs 500 crore with each km costing Rs 23 crore
Land required is 600 acres
Road will cut through 26 villages in Bangalore North, KR Puram and Devanahalli