Steel flyover on airport road gets Cabinet approval.

The elevated steel flyover project got Cabinet approval recently. It promises to speed up traffic between Hebbal and Basaveshwara Circle. At the same time, the stretch will lose much of the greenery.

The eight-lane 6.7-km flyover will come at a cost of Rs. 1,791 crore. The work has been awarded to L&T Mumbai and NCCL Hyderabad. The Cabinet was informed that it would be completed in 24 months and would handle around 2.68 lakh vehicles a day. It would entail acquisition of just four acres, of which one acre is private property.

However, it will mean the loss of 812 trees. “The Bangalore Development Authority plans to plant 60,000 saplings in various layouts (as compensation),” says the Cabinet note. Much of the trees will be cut on Palace Road, which was slated for widening after a recent High Court order gave the green signal for the same, said an official. The State government believes the project will eliminate congestion at Sanjay Nagar, Mehkri Circle, Kaveri junction, Windsor Manor, High Grounds and Basaveswara Circle.

However, Sanjeev Dyamannavar, founder of civic group Praja, said the 'ill-conceived' project would simply shift traffic choke points. “Faster routes can be developed even now by merely expanding the existing flyovers while also developing alternative roads to the airport from east Bengaluru. With the steel flyover, the administration is just shifting congestion to the entry and exit points of the flyover,” he said.

He believes the money would have been better spent implementing mass transit projects envisioned under the Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (2007).

THE HINDU