Bangalore roads awash with Rs1,525 cr

Bangalore roads awash with Rs1,525 cr

Four major thoroughfares including old airport road and dr rajkumar road will become signal-free this year

Santosh Kumar RB. Bangalore



The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has paved the city roads with a Rs1,525-crore allocation in its budget for 2009-10.
The whopping allocation is for the development of the city's road infrastructure. In stage I, the Palike intends to make the major arterial roads in the city signal-free corridors.
Four roads — Hosur-Laskar Road, Old Airport Road, Dr Rajkumar Road and a road from Mekhri circle to Benniganahalli — have been identified for this purpose. The budget also promises to make 12 other roads signal free in the next two years.
BBMP officials said that the signal free roads would help to avoid traffic jams at peak hours too.
"The Old Airport Road, one of the corridors considered under the project, connects the Old Airport road with Whitefield. After the completion of the signal free road motorists can drive up to 16 km on the road without a single stop," said an official. He added that the signal free road would help the vehicle users along North-East Bangalore as the corridor connects Marathhalli and other areas along the Old Madras Road. The 12 km-road stretch between the Mehkri Circle and Benniganahalli Road, is another road under the project.
"The road cutting through Jayamahal road, Nandidurga road and Ulsoor tank provides a smooth passage to vehicles users approaching the Old Madras Road," said another official. The 8.4km road stretch of Dr Rajkumar road beginning from the Yeshwanthpur-Mysore Sandal soap Factory junction to Okalipuram Entrance, would help the motorists entering the city from West Bangalore along Tumkur Road, a lot.
Around six kilometres stretch of the Hosur Laskar Road from the Vellara junction to the Silk Board junction will also be made signal free. "We will be using pre-cast technology to build underpasses," said another official.
Even though civic analysts feel that the projects have the potential to decongest road traffic, they see a lot of hurdles at the ground level when it comes to project execution. "There are chances of the proposed Metro alignment along the Rajkumar Road clashing with the signal free project," said Dinakar R, a civic analyst. The civic experts said that the effectiveness of the project also depends on how fast the Palike installs the magic-box underpasses.
"BBMP promised to install a magic-box at Cauvery junction in three days but took months to finish it. The promise to make the road to the BIA is also pending," said civic analyst Dhananjay K.