Magic box underpass ready

Magic box underpass ready
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: It should have been ready in 72 hours. It took a lot longer, almost 33 days, but the ‘magic box’ underpass near Cauvery Junction is finally ready. According to the initial deadline, it should have been completed on January 19. Now, the fresh dilemma is whether to allow vehicles before the governor formally inaugurates it or wait till that happens. The underpass could be opened on Monday or Wednesday but the BBMP is in a fix about the formal inauguration.
“If the underpass is not inaugurated on Monday, it will be done only on Wednesday. There’s a belief in the BBMP that Tuesday is inauspicious for inauguration,’’ sources said. As this is the first of its kind in Bangalore, BBMP wants to have a formal inauguration before allowing vehicles to use it. Work is almost over — asphalting the stretch of road running into the underpass and levelling the elements to surface level will be completed on Monday, said BBMP chief engineer (major roads) K S Krishna Reddy.
Works like providing ramps, grouting, shot creeting (injecting concrete into the pipe to hold the wall) and retaining wall have been completed. The BBMP claimed the magic box, a new and economically viable technique, would be completed in 72 hours, beginning January 16. Unfortunately, it became a nightmare for BBMP due to various hurdles ever work started.
BBMP commissioner S Subramanya said that the work on the underpass at BDA junction would begin from Wednesday night. He said that the underpass would take at least 45 days for completion. He has cautioned that traffic would be thrown out of gear until the completion of the work.