55-km drive from Whitefield to Devanahalli takes 3 hours!

55-km drive from Whitefield to Devanahalli takes 3 hours!
The grand opening of the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) in Devanahalli is barely two and a half months away.

But for the traveller, the fast lane to the new airport from the traffic clogged City Centre is still a mirage.

Deccan Herald chose to get into the travellers’ shoes to find how long it takes to brave the heat, dust and chaotic traffic to be at the Airport right on time, all the way from ITPL in Whitefield.

Yes, we have taken the time machine hoping to see off a business associate ready to board a flight to Bangkok at 11.30 am. But traffic on the way is the main stumbling block. Will we reach in time? Read on for a first hand report:

9.00 am: We leave the ITPL in Whitefield, by car in a race against time to reach Devanahalli by 11.30 am. But our worst fears about the ubiquitous traffic snarls were quickly becoming reality.

9.45 am: The car halts at the HAL Airport junction. Vehicles of all shapes and modes are on the spot. The peak hour jam is at its worst. Cops try to bring order, but in vain. It takes 35 minutes for us to pass this junction and proceed on Airport Road.

10.15 am: The driver Uday suggests that we avoid the MG Road-Cubbon Road stretch or we might find ourselves on the road the whole day. We immediately take a detour via 100 ft Road in Indiranagar and reach Old Madras Road at 10.30 am.

11.00 am: We finally manage to reach Mekhri Circle and continue our journey on Bellary Road and proceed amidst the vehicle pile up at every signal en-route. The driver uses all his experience to manoeuvre the car through the heavy traffic of buses and trucks.

11.20 am: A traffic pile up at the Hebbal lake flyover delays our journey as we get stuck for more than ten minutes.

11.55 am: We finally manage to reach our destination, but missed the flight by 25 minutes. The distance clocked for the entire journey was 55 km.

It is clear: our journey took 2 hrs and 55 minutes, well beyond our calculations.

Expressway
The 21.2-km expressway connecting Outer Ring Road to Devanahalli is unlikely to be ready by the time the airport starts commercial flight operation.

The six-lane expressway — designed for a 180 kph speed — was expected to take a substantial chunk of the traffic load off NH 7, once the airport becomes operational.

However, protests, litigation and discrepancies in the alignment survey has slowed the project.

High Speed Rail To BIAL
A high speed rail link to Devanahalli from the City has been proposed by the state government. However, there is not much progress in this regard though Governor Rameshwar Thakur is keen to begin the project as early as possible.

In December last year Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chief E Sreedharan made a presentation on the Detailed Project Report of the high speed rail link to Devanahalli to Mr Thakur.

The presentation included the need to float a Special Purpose Vehicle, the time schedule, and various other aspects of the Rs 3900 crore project.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief suggested that the project be taken up on a priority basis at the earliest to offer speedy connectivity to the Devanahalli airport.