BENGALURU: One of the busiest arterial roads in the city will soon see the opening of another underpass, in the 7.55 kilometer stretch between Mysuru Road and Hosur Road soon.The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) which is constructing the underpass at Muthuraj Junction, is all set to open the underpass for commuters from June 15 as the work is nearing completion. The BBMP which has already completed the foundation and utility shifting and other necessary works is currently taking up the construction of a retaining wall and box installation work at the site.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, K Nagaraj, Chief Engineer, Project Central, BBMP said, “The underpass is almost ready and we expect that it will be open for public by June. We have diverted traffic for vehicles headed towards Sitha Circle and remaining works will be completed soon. With this there will be yet another underpass along the ORR between Mysuru Road and Central Silk Board that will relieve commuters from the traffic signals,” he said.
The underpass is being taken up under the Signal-free corridor project between Central Silk Board and Mysuru Road that was sanctioned in 2015 under Nagarothana Scheme announced by Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. With a total cost of Rs 118 crore, the BBMP has identified grade separators at five locations along the proposed corridor.
As part of the project to build five grade separators, the BBMP has already unveiled flyovers at KEB Junction and Delmia Junction and the underpass at Muthuraj Junction will be added in June.
Along with this, the BBMP will also be taking up work on another underpass at Foodworld Junction from August once the underpass at Muthuraj junction is open to the public. The final planned underpass at Jedimara Junction is likely to be dropped however as the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)’s Namma Metro line is expected to cut through the identified location.
Nagaraj said, “We are still not sure about the Jedimaraja junction underpass as the metro is identified to be cutting through the proposed area.” This stretch of the ORR is significant as motorists from South Bengaluru travel through this road to reach Mysuru Road, Electronics City and Hosur Road.