After years of planning, the Jayadeva flyover in Bengaluru has been finally demolished. The demolition, which was planned by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
Although the main structure was demolished on Friday, June 5, a few more piers are left to be razed. These will be brought down in the coming week.
BMRCL Managing Director and senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ajay Seth told the Times of India that the demolition was carried out maintaining all safety procedures.
In place of the old structure, the BMRCL will now build a multi-level structure to make way for both metro rail lines and roadway. This will also accommodate a metro station at the under-construction Yellow Line of the metro (RV Road and Bommasandra metro line).
The flyover was built 15 years ago at the cost of Rs 21 crore by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the planning authority of the city. It took four years to complete the entire construction. The flyover is named after the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in the area. The flyover was planned to ease the traffic snarl at the busy Jayadeva Hospital Junction.
The demolition has generated a huge quantity of concrete debris of 6,000 cubic metres, which the BMRCL has dumped in a quarry in Chikkajala, BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer BL Yeshwanth Chavan told The Hindu.
The demolition was in the pipeline since 2017 but was getting delayed even after a loop towards Silk Board from Jayanagar side was brought down in July 2019. It was only in January 2020 that the authorities started bringing down the main lanes of the flyover.
As a precautionary measure, there were traffic diversions put in place, which further worsened the situation for south Bengaluru residents, especially those living between Bannerghatta Road and Silk Board junction which relied on this arterial road for the daily commute.
The work was halted midway due to the lockdown but resumed when the restrictions started easing. The demolition was complete on June 5.