Year of reckoning

Year of reckoning
R Jayaprakash describes some of the projects Bangalore can look forward to in 2008
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Rs 10,000 crore for Bangalore: this is the kind of investment the state will be ploughing in for major infrastructure projects. Megaprojects have been planned for better connectivity and traffic management in a rapidly growing city. While some of these projects have been on paper for more than three years, 2008 will be a year of reckoning for them.
With the issue of airport connectivity playing on the minds of the authorities, a high-speed rail link and dedicated expressway are high on the priority list. Other mass transit issues have also moved up the agenda.
After dilly-dallying for three years, with projects not moving an inch, the government has decided to hand over the expressway and Peripheral Ring Road to National Highways Authority of India.
Here’s a lowdown on what’s going to hit Bangalore roads this year:

PERIPHERAL RING ROAD (PRR)
PRR will be one of the biggest projects of the city. It will circumnavigate the city linking the major highways — Tumkur Road, Mysore Road, Old Madras Road, and the Hosur Road. The 116-km PRR will be implemented in two phases, costing Rs 3,600 crore in all. Phase I of the project will have a length of 64 km. It will connect Hosur Road and Tumkur via Old Madras Road. The final notification has been issued for acquiring around 900 acres for Phase I.
The authorities are also preparing for land acquisition for Part II of the project which will connect Hosur Road, Mysore Road and Tumkur Road. Around 1,820 acres will be acquired for the project, which will cost about Rs 2,675 crore.
The proposed PRR alignment links major highways and district roads. A number of commercial hubs and housing colonies would come up along the PRR. Most intra-city heavy trucks would prefer this corridor over the Outer Ring Road, in view of the quick and safe travel with marginal increase in distance. BDA has proposed a eight-lane road with buffer zones on either side.
Length: 116 km. Location: 14-22 km from city centre, 2.8-11.5 km from the existing Outer Ring Road and between 6 to 12 kms from BMICP road. Cost: Rs 3,600 crore. Time: 3 years.

HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK
The state administration on December 27 issued orders to the infrastructure department to execute the 34-km high-speed rail link to the new airport at Devanahalli through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The rail will connect BRV Grounds (MG Road) and Bangalore International airport.
Work on the Rs 3,716 crore project will start in December 2008. The government has accepted the detailed project report (DPR) presented by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation MD E Sreedharan which also proposes a city air terminal (CAT) to be built on BRV Grounds.
The train will take 25-30 minutes to reach the destination and will have two stops, one at Hebbal and another at Yelahanka. The project blueprint envisages check-in and baggage facilities at CAT and the Hebbal stop-over. The Yelahanka stop will only allow for baggage clearance.
The government has estimated that nearly 40 hectares is required for the project. The government already has 13.2 hectares, while it plans acquisition of 26.65 hectares of private land.
The cost break-up entails Rs 2,677 crore only for the rail facilities. A sum of Rs 155 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition and Rs 300 crore for various taxes, which add up to Rs 3,176 crore.
Length: 34 km Location: B R V Grounds (M G Road) and Bangalore International airport Cost: Rs 3,716 crore Time: 3 years

UNDERGROUND TUNNEL
While work on the Rs 6,500-crore Metro Rail is gaining momentum with the elevated corridor between MG Road and Byappanahalli being taken up on priority, there will be some action on the underground tunnelling work.
Work on the 9.15-km underground tunnel, which forms the crucial part of the Metro alignment, will commence this year.
The BMRCL will float global tenders for design and construction of the underground tunnels. The authority is expected to award the contract by May 2008 with a timeframe of 33 months to complete tunnelling and laying tracks. With that, the underground segment of the alignment will be completed by September 2011 and Phase I of the project will be ready by December 2011 as scheduled.
The underground tunnel portion will cost the BMRCL Rs 1,250 crore which will have seven stops on both North-South and East-West corridors — Majestic Interchange Stations, Chickpet, City Market on North-South and Majestic Interchange Stations, Central College opposite Court Complex, Vidhana Soudha near MS Building, Minsk Square on East-West.
The East-West underground corridor, which will be 4.65-km-long, will begin at KSCA Cricket Stadium near MG Road and end at Leprosy Hospital behind City Railway Station.
Length: 9.15 km Location: Swastik Theatre near Seshadripuram to Victoria Hospital near City Market and KSCA near MG Road to Leprosy Hospital behind City Railway Station Cost: Rs 1,250 crore Time: 33 months


Expressway
The 21-km Expressway, which has been beset by problems over the years, will now be taken up the NHAI. The project, which envisages a dedicated sixlane road to the international airport, will cost the authorities Rs 1,000 crore. The PWD has issued preliminary notification for land acquisition and this will be followed by the final notification. Ground work is expected to begin only by the end of 2008.
Length: 21 km Location: ORR at Banaswadi to international airport Cost: Rs 1,000 crore Time: 2 years