Hebbal flyover worsens traffic chaos
Due to the increasing traffic chaos on 100-metre-long bottleneck between Hebbal flyover and Kempapura entrance, the civic body has planned to widen and upgrade the Bellary Road leading to BIA. However, it has failed to solve the crisis.
The Hebbal flyover was inaugurated in 2003 and was built in 26 months at a cost of Rs 43 crore. It has four loops which add up to 5.23 km. A fifth lane is now being added to the loop descending towards Kempapura.
It is estimated that the daily traffic volume at Hebbal flyover nearly doubles in a year. Recently, the flyover has recorded a daily passenger car unit (PCU) of about 1.4 lakh, which is expected to cross the 2 lakh figure in a year.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken up the upgradation of the project between Hebbal flyover and the BIA. The bottleneck is the result of a huge mismatch on either side; the Bellary Road stretch on the BIA side is a 10-lane road expressway service roads, while, on the other side, eight lanes radiate towards the city.
The situation will worsen once the project is completed because the BIA side stretch will become a 16-lane highway including an elevated six-lane corridor, but on the other side it will be a nine-lane affair with five lanes going up and down the flyover, two lanes from Tumkur Road side and two lanes towards the Outer Ring Road-KR Puram side. The bottleneck is about six lanes wide.
The upgradation envisages adding one lane to the flyover towards BIA side, while there is no lane in the opposite direction. To ease the bottleneck, they planned to widen the road, as it is locked with army land on one side and a cemetery on the other. The army is now agreeing to part with the land.
By this April, the elevated expressway and the extra lane on the Hebbal flyover are expected to get completed and opened for commuters. However the extra lane will only relax the airport traffic.
Hebbal traffic which was considered as the pride of Bangalore city, is not a pride anymore. Every time a vehicle breaks down, the traffic comes to a halt. It seems like the private players did not account for the future.
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Bangalore, Bellary Road, Bengaluru International Airport, Hebbal Flyover, National Highways Authority of India, traffic chaos in Bangalore, traffic in Hebbal flyover
