BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to begin work on the long pending signal free corridor on Old Airport Road after the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) agreed to provide land for the project. Work on the long-pending signal free-corridor between Vellara Junction and Hope Farm Junction is set to begin soon and could be finished in as less as 6 months, officials said.
The `135 crore project, aimed at decongesting Old Airport Road, involves construction of three underpasses at critical junctions on Old Airport Road between Vellara Junction and Hope Farm Junction. The underpasses will come up at Wind Tunnel Road junction, at HAL Circle - the junction of Old Airport Road and Suranjandas Road, and at Kundalahalli Gate junction near Big Bazaar. In addition, drains and roads will be improved throughout the stretch.
The project has been pending for a long time and the work order was issued on 19 February, 2014. It was initially expected to be completed by March 2016, but it got delayed due to hurdles with land acquisition. On Monday, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) signed an MoU by which HAL handed over 3,100 square meters of land to BBMP. In return, BBMP will shift the existing Wind Tunnel Road to the edge of edge of HAL’s land at Challaghatta and construct a bridge over the Challaghatta drain and storm water drain.
Chief Engineer (projects), BBMP, KT Nagaraj said for the Wind Tunnel junction, ISRO and National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) have handed over land belonging to them, and will receive compensation as per Transferable Development Rights (TDR) rates. “At Kundalahalli Gate junction, out of 22 properties we need to acquire, 19 properties have been acquired and of the remaining three properties, two are under litigation. But we expect to acquire them soon and start work at the junction in a month,” Nagaraj said. He added that BBMP was ready to start work on the other two junctions. He said it would take at least six months to finish the corridor, while according to the agreement with HAL, it would take up to 12 months. BBMP’s document regarding the project details states March 31, 2019 as the probable date of completion for the three underpasses.
Residents who commute via the stretch have welcomed the project, and say it was much needed. “Passing the Kundalahalli junction towards HAL has been a major issue for some years now and often on busy days, it takes more than 10 minutes to clear this short distance of a few meters. Hopefully this will be taken care of by the BMP,” said Priyanka Singh, a resident of Whitefield.Aparajita Das, a resident of Brookefield, said the stretch saw traffic jams at Total Mall, HAL gate and Kundalahalli junctions even on weekends as the road is too narrow.
Rishi Bose, a resident of Rustambagh on Old Airport Road, highlighted the the Wind Tunnel Road junction as one of the biggest choke points. “A lot of people have to take a u-turn at the signal to go back towards Rustambagh. The underpass will make it much easier to cross,” he said.