Bengaluru: Expert panel not in favour of steel flyover
The 6.75-km bridge proposal should either be dropped or integrated with other elevated corridors: TAC
Bengaluru: The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the state government has suggested that the 6.75 km long steel bridge which the BDA plans to build between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal Junction be either dropped or integrated with the network of elevated corridors proposed for connecting North-South and East-West Bengaluru for best results.
Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, TAC member, R. K Misra, warned that the stand-alone steel flyover would choke the city as it would create a gooseneck at the Chalukya Circle. “We have suggested to the government that the elevated corridors will be enough to link certain vital areas and decongest the roads with some modifications and the steel bridge should be done away with,” he revealed.
Explaining that the elevated corridor from Hebbal to Central Silk Board would have loops to Chalukya Circle, Cantonment and other major junctions, he said, “There may be a few detours on this route, but it will play a major role in decongesting traffic in the Central Business District (CBD). Technically and financially it will not be a burden on the state government since the corridors will be built on a PPP basis.”
“The builders can collect a toll and recover their investment. Also, the government will save '1,310 crore if the steel bridge is integrated within the elevated corridors.”
Sources said that the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) will monitor the execution of the '18,000 crore elevated corridors project.
Meanwhile, when contacted , BDA commissioner T. Sham Bhat , said tenders had already been floated for the elevated steel bridge and technical scrutiny was in progress.
“So far, there has been no communication from the state government asking us to drop the project. We are following the schedule and March 10 is the last date for technical scrutiny. But if there are any directions from it to scrap the project, we will do so,” he added.
While admitting that the BDA was not keen on integrating the steel bridge with the elevated corridors, he, however, said it would leave the final decision to the state government.