Bridge to ease road chaos

Bridge to ease road chaos

Said to be first of its kind in the country, it will carry only light vehicles

Basavaraj Itnaal. Bangalore

Commuters using JC Road, one of the most congested roads in the city, will have a smooth ride in another six months, thanks to a proposed steel bridge that will carry light vehicles from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle.
Although only one-way traffic is allowed on this stretch, the flow is more than twice the road's carrying capacity. However, the steel bridge may not lead to withdrawal of one-way traffic.
Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) has proposed the bridge after conducting a survey of the traffic on the road between Minerva Circle and Hudson Circle.
While Minerva Circle has four roads bringing traffic to JC Road, Hudson Circle is a maze of six roads around Hudson Memorial Church and Kempe Gowda tower. Between Minerva Circle and Hudson Circle, traffic halts at Urvashi Cinema Junction, opposite town hall and near Badami House.
What worsens the traffic situation is the varying width of road on the 2.5-km stretch. While the width of RV Road at Minerva circle is 25.50m, it is just 18.30m on VV Puram side. The width of the JC Road till Town Hall varies from 21.5m to 24.5m and from Town Hall to NR Square it is 25m. The road is as narrow as 17m opposite Badami House while it is 21m near Ulsoor Gate Police Station.
Sources in BBMP engineering department said the bridge would not carry all the traffic from JC Road. Only two-wheelers, three-wheelers and cars would be allowed on the bridge. All heavy vehicles would continue to ply on the existing surface road. There would be an entry ramp from Urvashi Cinema while exit ramps will be provided near Town Hall towards KR Market.
Capt Raja Rao, member of BBMP's technical advisory committee (TAC), said the proposal was cleared by TAC and the civic body might invite tenders any time next month.
On why a steel bridge was proposed, instead of the traditional concrete structure, he said, "Only light traffic will be allowed on the elevated corridor and a steel structure can take care of the load. Steel structures are faster to erect. The bridge will be ready in six months."
He said this would be the first steel flyover on any urban road in the country. Steel structures require higher maintenance.