Yeshwanthpur flyover opens on Friday

Yeshwanthpur flyover opens on Friday
ATUL CHATURVEDI


After getting stuck in a bureaucratic muddle, the Yeshwanthpur flyover has broken free. The flyover, which was under construction for the last three years, will be thrown open for public on Friday.
Located right in front of the Yeshwanthpur police station, the Rs 19.30-crore structure will ensure a hassle-free drive for motorists using Tumkur Road. Besides the delay, the flyover has been the only structure that has been constructed while the traffic moved on without being diverted.
FOUR LANES
It was a part of the comprehensive city development plan under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. It is a four-lane, bidirectional flyover with a structural viaduct of 250 metres.
The ramp on Tumkur Road side is 52.70 metres and on the IISc side, 37.20 metres. The length of the flyover is 419.9 metres. The construction started in 2006 and it was to be completed by December 2007. As the work progressed at snail’s pace, the deadline was revised to December 2008. This deadline too was not met.
“The work on two joints and asphalting of the entire stretch was remaining, causing the delay,” said a BBMP official. Another reason for the delay was the “non-cooperation from Bescom, BWSSB and the traffic police”, said an engineering department official.
‘NON-COOPERATION’
“The BWSSB took three months to shift its utilities, while Bescom took eight months to complete pending works. The police department did not heed to our requests to divert the traffic. Yet, BBMP took it up as a challenge and completed the work without any traffic diversion,” he said.
Now, who would pay for the delay? Sources said Simplex Infrastructure, the contractor, could end up as the punching bag. It will lose 7.5 per cent of the estimated cost of the project.
Another official, however, said, “Though it is possible to impose a penalty on the contractor, the BBMP agreement does not have such a clause.”
The project is one of the first to be opened by the BJP government after the Lok Sabha polls. It is expected to give a boost to the party which has not fared well in Yeshwanthpur constituency, which is represented by minister for rural development and panchayat raj Shobha Karandlaje.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is expected to inaugurated it.
TRAFFIC BOTTLENECK
Though the flyover will prevent traffic snarls, the bottleneck near Anjaneya temple (Mathikere road) is likely to hamper free movement. Currently, due to the Mathikere road traffic signal, vehicles converge near Yeshwanthpur circle.
However, the BBMP officials said they are in talks with the police department to ease congestion. “We are asking the police not to allow a right turn for vehicles towards Mathikere road from IISc. Instead, these vehicles have to take a right turn below the Yeshwanthpur flyover.The talks are on and a solution will be finalised soon,” they said.