BDA scraps plan to demolish Hebbal flyover’s KR Pura ramp
BENGALURU: In a significant step in connection with the Hebbal flyover augmentation project undertaken by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), it has now decided not to demolish the ramp leading from KR Pura to the city.
This follows a step initiated by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to shift its line slightly from the present alignment, said BDA officials. In another change of plan, it has also decided to effect changes in the existing Tumakuru loop. These moves will significantly reduce the time taken to complete the project by many months.
The much-delayed flyover project by BDA is being carried out a cost of Rs 106 crore. With the convergence of Metro and suburban rail projects at the spot, the need to accommodate various agencies delayed it considerably. The latest deadline for the project is June 2025 for Phase-I and December 2025 for full completion.
A senior official told TNIE, “Initially, the BDA planned to demolish the KR Pura ramp to make way for the Metro line. However, until Metro work began, we decided to use the ramp temporarily by making some adjustments. To facilitate this, a portion of the ramp, particularly at the turn was removed.”
Two Metro lines go via the Hebbal flyover, the Kempapura to JP Nagar IVth Phase (Orange Line, Phase-3) and the Sarjapura to Hebbal (Phase-3A), the officials explained. “Metro officials recently informed us that they were shifting the alignment of their pillars slightly. This gives us some additional space. Hence, we decided at a crucial meet on December 11 that we will not demolish it but instead align it with the route towards the city. This also helps us save time,” he added.
Rather than demolishing the Tumakuru loop as planned earlier, it has now decided to merge the loop along with two of the three new lanes that will be built by the BDA between Baptist Hospital and the railway tracks.
Despite repeated calls and messages, the Metro engineers concerned did not respond.
Additionally, BDA has also managed to secure permissions from the Railway Ministry’s RDSO in Lucknow and the South Western Railway to build two spans, one measuring 19.33m and another measuring 35.03m which are being built above the live railway tracks at Hebbal for its project. “Railway officials visited the spot on Friday morning to inspect the material to be used in building the spans,” said a source.
Backgrounder
In bid to decongest the jam-packed flyover, the project was proposed in 2015. It had a deadline of April 2018. Apart from the three new lanes being built, an unidirectional underpass for traffic from Tumakuru Road towards KR Pura is also being readied.
The initial cost of the Hebbal project was Rs 87 crore and it shot up later to Rs 106 crore with other additions. After work began, it came to a standstill for nearly two years from April 2019 when BMRCL said its line would run at the second level at the flyover and hence BDA cannot construct anything there.
In order to go ahead with the project, BDA later found a solution and agreed to build its roads at the first level itself though the width would get slightly reduced.