An avoidable flyover construction at Hosakerehalli, Bangalore

To everyone’s surprise, the traffic congestion has considerably reduced even though the construction is going on.

BHPian madhukarmohan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As soon as you take a right from Mysore Road at the Nayandahalli junction, you will enter the Outer Ring Road which connects to the residential localities of South Bengaluru. After driving for 800 meters, you are welcomed by Hosakerehalli Junction and the prolonged traffic jams at this signal which was common until 2021. To ease the traffic congestion, the authorities started to construct a new flyover as part of signal free corridor project between Nayandahalli and Central Silk Board. After 6 months, construction was put on hold after they revealed the plan to have a metro line in this stretch. Interestingly after few months, the work has started again and going at a full speed.

This is the location (yellow star) where the flyover is coming up:

To everyone’s surprise, the traffic congestion has considerably reduced even though the construction is going on. This is mainly because of a clover leaf interchange of NICE road which is right under the Outer Ring Road. They would have saved crores of rupees by making minor additions to the clover leaf as shown below (black line and dots). This which would have helped commuters a lot. Do you also think that this flyover could have been avoided?

Here’s what BHPian am1m had to say on the matter:

It is becoming more apparent that a lot of road infra projects in Bangalore have been started with absolutely no real end-goal in mind, except to make money for the politicians and contractors involved. Irrespective of political party and who is in power. Some of these blunders are really blunders (“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”) and because of no co-ordination between the various agencies.. But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that most of these “projects” are just money spinners. When will it translate to political action from us citizens? As long as it doesn’t, it won’t stop.

Here’s what BHPian puntra800 had to say on the matter:

This is one of the many infra projects in Bangalore which make no sense at all. The kadirenhalli underpass has the same issue, it was basic common sense that you extend the underpass by. a few meters another junction could have been made signal free but no our amazing civic planners have other ideas for it.

The latest in the list is the double decker road/metro till silk board, I mean who told them ending the flyover right before the junction will ease traffic ?

Here’s what BHPian sagarpadaki had to say on the matter:

In my opinion, this flyover will ease the traffic flow especially from Banashankari side. During peak hours and rains, the traffic backs up almost till PES college. On the Nayandahalli side, I have seen traffic backup for almost 500 meters. The main problem is not vehicles going straight on the ORR. It is those who want to take a left/right turn at the signal that cause the backup due to narrow road and higher volume of vehicles wanting to take left/right .

Until the Katriguppe signal is also bypassed with a flyover or underpass, all that is going to happen is shift the traffic jam further down the road.

Here’s what BHPian condor had to say on the matter:

I often take that stretch, and that stretch has been a bottleneck. By itself, a flyover will be very helpful there. However, two points:

1. The newly proposed metro and these were planned separately, and hence lack cohesion.
2. The main reason for the traffic pile-up is the traffic that cuts across the Ring road. While the flyover will ease traffic at the junction, the cross-traffic is in narrow roads in both directions, and there will be no solution to this.

While on this topic, the other places we have problems are the two junctions further east:

Kadirenahalli / Indian Institute of Rock Mechanics,

Sarakki signal.

Kadirenahalli under-pass should have been lengthened during initial construction, which would have made that spot signal-free, However only one end has a path for crossing traffic. This is one glaring mistake of a under-pass.

Sarakki signal is a different story with almost no solution in sight except may be demolishing some buildings on both sides of the road leading to the junction

Keyword: An avoidable flyover construction at Hosakerehalli, Bangalore