Construction of flyovers not sustainable solution to decongest Bengaluru: Expert

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has proposed the construction of flyovers at various points in the city in order to decongest traffic, in its budget. It has claimed that these new flyovers will help remove bottlenecks and smoothen the flow at busy traffic junctions.

A flyover on the Gokula Road near the busy Mathikere intersection will be built at a cost of Rs 40 crore. A flyover at the ORR-Pipeline junction in Jalahalli will cost the BBMP another Rs 40 crore. Another flyover at the Mehkri Circle underpass on the Jayamahal road is going to cost Rs 65 crore. A new flyover at the Sadashivanagar Police Station junction will cost Rs 40 crore.

Apart from these, the BBMP will also deposit its contribution to the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) project at Yelahanka Raitha Santhe. Mobility experts in the city have repeatedly said that the construction of flyovers is not a sustainable solution to decongest traffic in a city. Dr Ashish Verma, convenor, IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab, has said that flyovers only merely shift the point of congestion.

In order to solve the issue of traffic congestion in the city, one should make public transport system reach its optimum, experts say. Environmentalists have also opposed the move as construction of flyovers means axing of a huge population of trees. The proposed Sankey Flyover project is currently reeling in the heat of criticism, mainly as it requires the cutting down of about 50 heritage trees.