Answer to Mekhri Circle congestion is public travel: Experts

With the completion of the Hebbal flyover loop, the recurring congestion in the area has now shifted to Mekhri Circle. Mobility experts had predicted this outcome, but planning authorities failed to intervene, leaving the traffic police to manage the growing pressure.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) has proposed a rotary flyover at the junction at an estimated cost of Rs 420 crore. Mobility experts, including Ashish Verma, convenor of the IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab, and sustainable mobility expert Vivekanand, said the congestion is largely driven by the excessive dependence on private vehicles using the route, particularly airport bound traffic and VIP convoys.

“With the Hebbal loop now complete, the congestion has simply moved to Mekhri Circle. When the new airport first opened, it used to take barely 40 to 45 minutes to reach it. Today, despite multiple flyovers, travel takes much longer, and bottlenecks have emerged at places like Mekhri Circle.

Now another flyover is being planned there,” Verma said. Vivekanand, who has previously worked with the traffic police to manage traffic at the junction, said the proposed rotary flyover may not solve the problem. “I’m not convinced these measures will help. The more road capacity you create, the more vehicles occupy it.

Mekhri Circle also sees heavy VIP movement, and traffic is often halted several minutes in advance for convoy movement. Once vehicles begin piling up there, congestion escalates very quickly,” he said. Athul, a daily commuter on the route, said the underpass experiences significantly heavier congestion than the surface roads.

According to him, while traffic above the underpass moves relatively smoothly, the underpass itself often becomes clogged during peak hours. Vivekanand explained that traffic police personnel actively monitor the ramps leading into the underpass and regulate signals accordingly. 

“The police visually monitor when a ramp is nearing capacity and immediately switch the signal to green to ease the pressure. Once the ramp fills up, the entire Mekhri Circle underpass begins choking. The officers managing the junction understand its traffic behaviour extremely well because the situation can spiral very quickly,” he said.

He added that the long-term so lution lies in strengthening public transport. “Hopefully, once the airport Metro becomes operational, a substantial share of traffic will shift away from private vehicles,” he said. Vivekanand also suggested that the width of Bellary Road should be made uniform across stretches to prevent vehicles from competing for space where the road narrows.

He further stressed the need for stricter lane discipline, particularly near the ramp leading to wards Jayamahal Road, to ensure smoother traffic flow