New flyover, same problems

Bengaluru 

The new Ragigudda-HSR Layout flyover was fully opened to the public on a trial basis on Wednesday. While parts of the flyover were open, the route from HSR Layout to Ragigudda in Jayanagar had remained closed. Once commuters started using it they found that it eliminated stoppages at several heavily congested places such as the Silk Board Junction and others and they could go straight from HSR Layout to Jayanagar, without stopping. However, commuters soon realized that they had swapped one traffic jam for another.

News Trail observed during a brief inspection that the Ragigudda exit was extremely congested, even during non-peak hours. The reason for this is that there is a signal at the end of the flyover. Traffic had stopped for several kilometres on the flyover as well as on the ground level road. Ashwin Mahesh, an IT professional and activist put out a statement that illustrated the issue. He said, “The landing point for an elevated road should be chosen such that there is a long stretch of free movement after that point. We build elevated roads that land at signals, and then we are surprised that they are choking up the road on descent.” Ashish Verma, Convenor of the IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab, explained, “The flyover is the problem.

The flyover will bypass all the usual stops and will end at some point and at that point the charge is high which leads to a backing up of the traffic on the flyover itself. When the flyover wasn’t open, the vehicles would come in batches and get cleared from the traffic signal quickly. But now that they all come at once, they pile up. I am hearing that there is even spillage of vehicles on the surrounding roads as well.

The Silk Board Junction may be benefited but the overall problem is not solved. With the project being done at such a high cost, it is a waste of money.” The flyover was built at a cost of Rs 449 crore by the BMRCL and stretches for about 5.12 km in total. Social media users were quick to point out the flaws of the design. One user by the name of Deva said, “Silk Board traffic cleared, but new choke point.” Verma said that this is par for the course when it comes to flyovers and has been an issue all over the city.

“This is the story all over the city. Before there was an expressway, it would take me about 40 minutes to come back from the airport. Then, with the Hebbal Junction, the traffic was jammed there and now due to the loops and everything, there is a pile-up on Mekhri Circle. So it is really baffling how these projects are done,” he said.