BENGALURU: The ball will be set rolling on Tuesday for construction of a six-lane signal-free steel corridor between Chalukya Circle and Hebbal Flyover. The flyover is expected to decongest this traffic-laden stretch and almost halve the time taken to reach the Kempegowda International Airport.
“Tenders will be called for on Tuesday for the steel elevated flyover, estimated to cost `1,350 crore,” Engineer Member, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), P N Nayak, said. The contract will be awarded to a single firm and it will a global tender, he added.
This will be the longest steel bridge in the country when completed and will require 60,000 tonnes of steel. Three of the lanes will head towards the airport and three in the reverse direction. “The lanes will totally cover a width of 25 metres and will run to a length of 6.75 km,” added Nayak.
The proposed steel corridor from Chalukya Circle will pass through Windsor Manor Bridge, the Railway Bridge and Mekhri Circle before joining the Hebbal Flyover.
The time taken to traverse the distance between Chalukya Circle to Hebbal Flyover by a four-wheeler now is approximately 30 minutes and it will come down to less than 10 minutes as the lanes will be signal-free. “The time taken to reach airport from Chalukya Circle will be just 30 minutes when it is in place,” he said.
The deadline for applications will be two months and the contract will be finalised by December-end. “The contractor will be given a two-year period to execute the work. So, by 2017 end, the flyover will be in place,” Nayak said. Kolkata has a steel bridge in place but it covers a distance of just 1.8 km, he added.
Elaborating on the advantages of using steel, the official said in the case of concrete, the fabrication needs to be done on the spot. The steel structure can be readied in the yard and transported to the construction spot. “Work will be completed faster and there will be less disturbance to the traffic flow,” Nayak added.