A Metro road that brings pleasure, for a change!

A Metro road that brings pleasure, for a change!
The new diversion road constructed by the BMRCL near the Byappanahalli depot has been warmly welcomed by the residents of the area
SHASHWATHI BHANUKUMAR


At a time when Metro Rail work has become synonymous with jagged roads and blocked stretches, here comes a surprise: A brand new road built as an alternative to the one lost due to the Metro!
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Thursday threw open for traffic its newly built road connecting Ramamurthynagar with Old Madras Road through NGEF Layout. Kasturninagar. This, perhaps, is the first time that an alternative diversion road has been built with regard to Metro work.
The existing road, (a left turn near NGEF Circle while coming from Indiranagar side) will be closed for traffic and motorists now have to use the new diversion road. The BMRCL is taking up a stretch of the road on the way from Old Madras Road towards NGEF for the project. The road taken will form part of the depot coming at Byappanahalli. It is for this reason that the BMRCL has built the diversion road. “The old road which we are taking over is about 250 meters in length. The one we have built now is a 600 meters road,” explained Yeshavanth Chavan, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of BMRCL.
The road will help commuters travel from Kasthuri Nagar, NGEF Layout and Ramamurthy Nagar to Old Madras Road. The residents of the areas are happy. Srinivsan, a resident of Ramamurthy Nagar, said, “Our city needs such development. The other road through which we used to travel was not up to the mark. Sure, it was a little problematic for us when the construction started, but now that the road is complete and it is much wider than the old one, so we are really happy.”
K S Chandramouli, president of Bhuvaneshwari Residents Welfare Association in Ramamurthy Nagar, too echoed the same view. “I did not know it was complete. I will go see it now. The road on which the vehicles used to ply was not really good. No proper street-lights and the condition of the road itself was bad. But now, with this new road, it will be a better and much safer ride,” he said.
However, Yusuf Motiwala, another resident of NGEF Layout, had a different view on the new road. “The problem of the new road is that the length has increased but the width is almost the same as the old road. The BMRCL could have constructed a much wider road. Now, because of this, much more traffic will pile up on this stretch,” he said.
The new road is again a twolane road. “The footpaths in the new road just near the Byappanahalli depot are much wider than in the old road. About 39 street lights have been installed,” said Chavan. The diversion road cost the BMRCL Rs 1.35 crore in all.
Features of the diversion road
Connecting Old Madras Road to Kasthurinagar, NGEF Layout and Ramamurthynagar Length: 600 m Lane: Two lane Carriage way width: 8.4 metres Carriage way width at super elevation: 10.3 metres Number of curves: 1 Length of median: 100 metres Footpath width: 1.30 metres both sides Number of street lights: 39 Project cost: Rs 1.35 crore