Grand plan to clear traffic mess

Grand plan to clear traffic mess
R Jayaprakash | TNN

Bangalore: A host of corridors for doubling the length of Metro Rail, mono rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transport and a slew of new roads, realignment of ring roads and parking bays. Bangalore, already coping with traffic chaos, needs to put in place a comprehensive circuit of projects to see it through till 2025.
All this will come with an investment of Rs 44,029 crore. According to a comprehensive traffic and transport plan conducted by RITES is ready with its report will be submitted to the governor on Saturday.
By 2025, the city’s vehicular population will be 1.2 crore and commuting can be normal only if an integrated multimodal mass transport system is in place. This system will add 650 km of additional lines of mass transport and perhaps encourage 73% of people to use public transport.
The city’s four corridors will have to be spruced up. These are metro rail corridors of 88.2 km, monorail/LRT corridors of 60 km, commuter rail corridor of 204 km and bus rapid transit corridors of 265.5 km. The corridors should be in place in two phases over 17 years. While Phase I will incur an expenditure of Rs 25.872 crore from 2007 to 2012, Phase II will need Rs 17,017 crore till 2025.
In the metro corridor, in addition to the existing alignment, 88 km have been added — extension of north-south corridor from RV terminal up to PRR; Byappanahalli to Benniganahalli along Old Madras Road, Yelahanka to PRR via Nagavara, Electronic City; Indiranagar metro station to Whitefield via 100 Feet Road.
For the monorail corridor with a length of 60 kms, the suggested routes are: Hebbal to JP Nagar via Bannerghatta Road along the western portion of ring road; Kathriguppe Road to National College; Hosur Road-Bannerghatta Road to PRR. The report has mooted commuter rail corridors running up to 204 km.
This means putting to use the existing railway line for local transportation with the introduction of local trains. The bus rapid transport (BRT) corridor means a dedicated bus lane cutting across the main areas of the city. For road development, a Rs 8,000-crore comprehensive plan has been outlined.
Apart from PRR, core ring road and expressway to airport, new roads and missing links, road widening, grade separators, realignment of outer ring road, parking facilities and integrated freight complexes have been suggested.