The traffic from Koramangala to Ejipura is unbearable even during non-peak hours. Due to the bottlenecks near Sony World junction, commuters can take almost an hour to cross the stretch.
In a bid to ease the jams in this route, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has floated an idea of constructing an elevated corridor between Koramangala and Ejipura junction.
The idea was put forth in 2014 and has been proposed again due to the growing traffic.
The BBMP plans to develop a 2.4-km elevated corridor and has already floated a tender for a project management consultancy firm to monitor work quality and also oversee project implementation.
“The elevated corridor will connect Kendriya Sadan in Koramnagala 2nd Block to Ejipura Junction. The flyover will be constructed at a height of 5.5m and will reduce the travel time from Ejipura to Hosur by half,” said BBMP Commissioner, Manjunath Prasad.
Currently, the travel time along the Ejipura-Hosur stretch is 45-50 minutes and sometimes goes over an hour. The flyover is meant to ease the traffic at Sony Signal and also the Inner Ring Road to decongest traffic moving towards Domlur Flyover and eventually Indiranagar, Prasad added.
With an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore, the Palike has set a 30-month deadline for the completion of the project, as it has already obtained the state cabinet’s nod over a month ago.
The Palike is expecting a good response for the tender, as the corridor will be a four-lane and two-directional stretch. The corridor will have an entry ramp at St John’s Medical College and will head towards Domlur. There will also be an exit ramp near Kripanidhi College near Madiwala to divert traffic moving towards Sarjapur as well.
In 2014, the project was proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renweal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. The JNNURM scheme was dropped during that year and the project got shelved. The state government had announced the project during the 2015 budget, but no funds were allocated and the project was again put on hold. In 2014, the cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 168 crore and has increased by Rs 30 crore now.
After the Steel Flyover Beda movement, the BBMP has become wary of the number of trees that will be cut for the project.
“We are working on a plan to minimize the loss of trees due to this project. Instead of cutting down the trees completely, branches may be pruned. Apart from planting saplings for all trees that will be cut, the BBMP plans to develop a green stretch along the elevate corridor,” Prasad said.