Elevated corridors for seamless connectivity

R O A D M A P
Elevated corridors for seamless connectivity
The three elevated corridors proposed by the BBMP will make commuting to the key north, east and south destinations in the city virtually seamless, says Leena Mudbidri


The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has plans to construct three new elevated roads at important junctions in the city, linking three existing flyovers along the route seamlessly. The aim is to provide commuters a continuous connectivity from point to point by 2009.
Location
According to a senior official in the Major Roads Department of the BBMP, the three new elevated roads, which will have toll gates for entry fee, will be constructed over stretches of Hosur Road, Airport Road and Raj Bhavan Road. On the Hosur Road stretch, the 'up ramp' of the elevated road will begin at Shoolay Circle i.e. Vellara Junction and the 'down ramp' will land at the Madivala Police Station (Silk Board Junction). This stretch will be of a length of 5.9 km.
On the old Airport Road, the 'up ramp' will start from Kodihalli Gate and land at Kundalahalli Gate after Kundalahalli Ring Road near Whitefield, stretching along a length of 7.2 km. On Raj Bhavan Road, the 'up ramp' will begin at Minsk Square while the down ramp will land at the Hebbal flyover entrance. This elevated road will be of a length of 7.9 km. The elevated roads will be constructed over pillars put up on the medians along its entire stretch. Sources also maintained that the proposed high-speed rail link from the city to the new Bangalore International Airport which has also been planned along the Minsk Square - Hebbal stretch, will not hamper the plans of the elevated road. However, he said, that discussions are on with the Metro Rail authorities regarding the alignment of the rail link. The Metro Rail authorities do not want to disturb the alignment, he said. Once all plans are in place, this stretch will sport three modes of connectivity one, the existing road, two, the high speed rail link, and three, the elevated road.
Point to point
connectivity
The primary objective behind the concept of elevated roads, or flyovers, has always been to provide faster commuting time and better connectivity. "These continual vertical built-up models are set to provide seamless connectivity from point to point," said S Krishna Reddy, special commissioner, major roads, BBMP. "This means, where one elevated road ends, a flyover or another elevated road begins, hence providing continual connectivity," he said.
Realty and
infrastructure
With these three elevated road corridors coming up at crucial transit points in the city, road infrastructure is certain to get a fillip. The residential and commercial market curves in the city have always been propelled by the developments in infrastructure and the feasibility of these three projects will spiral a boom in investments in the residential and commercial properties in Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, Electronic City, Hebbal, and all the villages lying on either side of Bellary Road towards Devanahalli.
Current status of projects
Sources in the BBMP revealed that the 21 km of elevated roads will be constructed by a Delhibased consortium and the detailed project report (DPR) is ready. The BBMP recently conducted joint preliminary inspections along with the consortium representatives. Once all the loose ends are tied, the construction on all the three elevated road corridors would be fully operational in 18 months, BBMP sources revealed. Linking the city
CBD with Bangalore South-East
The Hosur Road elevated corridor stretch linking Vellara Junction on Richmond Road to Madivala Police Station, will land at the 'up ramp' of the underconstruction elevated Hosur Road corridor stretch leading to Electronic City. "This will make it smooth for vehicles which do not want to pass through the Forum Mall junction. They can take this planned elevated Hosur Road, without getting stuck at any junction," said a top official in the department. So, the existing Hosur Road at ground level will be the transit route for commuters to and from Sarjapur Road and Koramangala.
"The peak hour traffic from Sarjapur Road and Koramangala inches through at snail's pace along the congested Hosur-Adugodi stretch and the Lower Agaram Road. Although road widening works are going on in this part of the road, traffic piles up at bottlenecks near the Infant Jesus shrine on Lower Agaram Road and at Forum Mall junction," said a police official attached to the Adugodi Traffic Police Station. The elevated road corridor will come as a breather for commuters.
CBD with Bangalore North
The Raj Bhavan Road elevated corridor from Minsk Square along Chowdaiah Road and Bellary Road to the Hebbal flyover will add to the connectivity between the CBD and the new Bangalore International Airport. Since this elevated road will land just where the Hebbal Flyover begins, it will ensure smoother flow of traffic from the city centre, without detours
CBD with
Bangalore East
With the proposed new elevated road coming up along the Airport Road and starting at Kodihalli Gate, just at the down ramp of the existing Airport Road flyover, it will mean seamless connectivity between the CBD and Whitefield, overriding the Domlur bottleneck. So, residents of Whitefield and surrounding areas can be ensured of smoother commuting to the city centre, over Marathahalli and Domlur.
Continuous point to point connectivity Lesser commuting time Solution to traffic bottlenecks Fillip to residential and commercial properties along routes Better monitoring of traffic movement