Will smooth ride be a reality?

Will smooth ride be a reality?
Monday April 23 2007 09:29 IST

BANGALORE: With construction of Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) and land acquisition in full swing, a smooth ride may finally be a reality.

What enhances the hope is the policy to restrict commercial activity along the road. If everything goes as planned, the BDA would finally achieve what it could not with the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

The developing agency has begun with the construction activity of the eight-laned PRR in Bangalore South East region near Bannerghatta Road and Yeshwantpur in Bangalore North. The PRR, which will run parallel to Link Road of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project in some places, will cost BDA’s kitty some Rs 3,600 crore.

The PRR is expected to not only ease traffic congestion, but also boost economic development in the region. The route from Hosur Road to Mysore Road, via Tumkur Road will cater to the heavy vehicles. This will reduce the traffic bottleneck on the city roads. Tourist buses too would have to bypass Bangalore City as the PRR will be linked to all the highways, including NH-7.

BDA commissioner M K Shankarlinge Gowda said that the PRR will mark the limits of the horizontal expansion of Bangalore. ‘‘Development of new layouts beyond this road would not be encouraged as that would be counter-productive. The road will definitely ease traffic movement. The alignments and land acquisition in certain places are in progress,’’ said Gowda.

The agency has faced a lot of hurdles in the road alignment. It had to shift its chartered routes many times for various reasons. As per the prior alignment, the PRR was to pass through the reserve forests of Bannerghatta, but the plan was altered, he pointed out.