BENGALURU: To help sort out the traffic mess at Outer Ring Road (ORR) during peak hours, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is mulling an elevated road at the Tin Factory Junction. According to the present plan, this road will be constructed simultaneously with the upcoming Central Silk Board-KR Puram line, the contract of which will be retendered by BMRCL.
A senior Metro official told The New Indian Express that traffic on ORR merges with traffic on Old Madras Road at Tin Factory, creating much chaos and congestion every day. “To help mitigate the road traffic there, BMRCL is looking at creating a four-lane road that would come up above the proposed ORR Line”.
This flyover will be mostly on ORR piers above the common stretch on Old Madras Road. “At the drawing board stage, it clearly seems doable, and the BMRCL is now working out the details. Once the technical feasibility is worked out, the state government will be requested for approval and funding,” the official added.
Such an elevated road seems a possibility, as BMRCL is carrying out a similar project at Central Silk Board, he added. “The peak hour traffic in front of Tin Factory is 2.6 times that of the road capacity. We want to contribute our bit to ease the bottleneck there,” he said.
Since the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the ORR Line was readied in house, BMRCL is in a position to make changes without having to consult any external agency. According to the DPR released in October 2016, an average of 18,750 vehicles are present on the ORR every hour. During peak hour, this number shoots up by two to three times the average.
ORR LINE RETENDERING WILL TAKE TIME
Due to internal problems within infrastructure firm IL & FS Engineering and Constructions, the lowest bidder for ORR Line package-1, the tender was discharged by BMRCL, as the financial capability of the firm to complete the project became suspect. Asked about the way forward for this line, the official said, “It will take four to six months now for the project to be re-tendered. We can do it only after getting the necessary approvals from the Central government.”