‘Open double decker flyover or we will’: Karnataka AAP warns Bengaluru Metro authorities over delayed inauguration

AAP state spokesperson Ashok Mruthyunjaya, along with other AAP leaders, staged a protest on Monday near the flyover demanding the BMRCL to open it for motorists in view of the growing traffic woes at the CSB junction.

“Though the flyover was ready 15 days back, it is yet to be opened for public use. The double decker flyover will ease traffic congestion at the CSB junction which is a major bottleneck,” said Mruthyunjaya.

He added, “It is wrong to wait for a VIP to come and inaugurate it. If the flyover is not inaugurated by next week, we will open it for the public.”

AAP leaders also alleged that the BMRCL officials are waiting for the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister’s time slot to inaugurate the flyover.

The CSB junction in Bengaluru is the busiest junction and notorious for its traffic snarls. The junction is an intersection of the Outer Ring Road on the east and west and Hosur road on the north and south and a large volume of vehicular movement makes the junction a bottleneck.

BMRCL managing director Maheshwar Rao told The Indian Express that the flyover will be open to the public only after the final checks are completed.

How will the double decker flyover help

In order to mitigate traffic woes, the BMRCL is constructing Metro corridors from R V Road to Bommasandra (Electronic City Metro) — the Yellow line — and the CSB to K R Puram station (Outer Ring Road Metro) or the Blue line. The Blue line further continues towards the airport.

At the CSB junction, the BMRCL is constructing the double decker flyover, which runs from Ragigudda to CSB, to accommodate motor vehicles at the first level and Metro trains at the second level. The flyover has been built to ease out the traffic mess at the CSB junction.

The ramps and the places they connect

The construction of the loops and ramps have been executed by M/s Afcons Infrastructure Limited. Vehicle users coming from Ragigudda by using the double decker flyover will reach Hosur Road through Ramp A and the HSR Layout through Ramp C.

Further, Ramp B, which is at the ground level, connects Ramp A from the BTM Side to access the Outer Ring Road and Hosur Road. Meanwhile, those coming from the HSR Layout will be able to reach Ragigudda side through Ramp D which runs above Ramp A and the Yellow line, and continues with a down Ramp E to access the BTM layout.

Both Ramp A and Ramp B are merging and running continuously over the existing Madiwala flyover across the busiest National Highway-44, featuring four continuous solid slabs, each spanning 31 metre, having a width of 15.1 m and coupled with curvature radius of 52 m.

The first level of the road flyover is already constructed for the Yellow line from Ragigudda to the CSB junction. The commissioning of the A, B, and C ramps was supposed to have been completed by May 2024 while the D and E ramps are set to be commissioned by December 2024, according to the BMRCL.