New underpass Now what?

New underpass Now what?
DTP gets a fix on whether the third Fraser Town underpass is benefitting commuters
ANJALI MUTHANNA, Pottery Road and MM Road


The Fraser Town underpasses are important links for anyone who lives in Cooke Town, Richards Town, Benson Town, Lazar Layout and other areas beyond the Bangalore East station, to the heart of the Downtown area. Before the ITC railway crossing was closed for the construction of the ITC flyover in 2006, there were two underpasses near the Fraser Town police station. The first was an old drain that was converted into an underpass. Till 2003, this underpass served as a one-way towards Pottery Road for three hours in the morning and as a one-way towards Cox Town for the rest of the day. When the second underpass was built in 2003, each was a one-way leading towards Pottery Road and Cox Town respectively.
Since the ITC flyover construction started in 2006, traffic around the railway crossing has been rerouted. The Mosque Road bridge, once a two-way, is now a one-way leading towards Pottery Road. The Fraser Town underpasses are both one-ways leading towards MM Road. The only link that remains two-way is the Tannery Road underpass. This made traffic chaotic during peak hours. In the morning, there was usually a pile-up on Pottery Road caused by the traffic coming from Lingarajapuram. In the evening, traffic going down Mosque Road towards the bridge was gridlocked, and at
times would even extend up to the Coles Road circle.
The BBMP has attempted to solve the problem by opening another underpass near the existing ones. The construction of the underpass is now complete, but is only open for traffic going towards Cox Town. This doesn’t benefit commuters much, especially those using four-wheelers, because Wheeler Road, the main Cox Town Road, is a mess because of the incomplete flyover construction.
Richards Town Residents’ Association member Zafar Sait says the current arrangement is inadequate. “There’s a lot of traffic coming over the bridge from Mosque Road. Motorists take a right just after the bridge to go towards Lingarajapuram. All the underpasses can’t be used to only allow traffic out of Pottery Road; one must be used to allow vehicles to enter Pottery Road to take the load off Mosque Road,” he suggests.
Pottery Road resident Smita R says she didn’t even know the underpass was open, “so I haven’t used it yet, but it doesn’t make sense to have that underpass lead only to Cox Town now. The area is a mess because of the flyover construction, but once the flyover is completed, it’ll help,” she says.
However, Lazar Layout resident Rohit Bhat says that the new underpass has its merits. “I don’t usually go to Cox Town. However, on weekends I need to go to CMH Road in Indiranagar for classes. Then I guess I’ll use the new underpass to go Bayapanahalli via Cox Town,” he says. However, since he has to come from Lazar Layout, he will have to come down Lazar Road, take a left on to Pottery Road and then take a U-turn to use the new underpass, which will prove difficult when there is a lot of traffic.
COPSPEAK
“Things have not been planned properly as of now. It would be preferable if one of the new underpasses was used to allow traffic to get to Pottery Road, but that means there will be a criss-cross flow of traffic. As it is, we need to post four constables just to regulate traffic in this area. We’d need more manpower if one of the underpasses allowed traffic towards Pottery Road. People who are coming from Lazar Road will have to take the second underpass (the one on the extreme right) and only two- and four-wheelers can use the centre underpass (the oldest one). Until the ITC flyover is finished, this is the way the situation will be.”
Gita, Fraser Town traffic inspector