Commercial Street to reopen on Jan 15

Y Maheswara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: Come January 15, after numerous missed deadlines and changes in the plan that cost shop owners dearly, Commercial Street will be reopened to the public. Bangalore Smart City Limited intends to leave no stone unturned (literally) to complete the work. “We are working hard to meet the deadline,’’ said BSCL Chief Engineer Vinayak Sugur. The plan to upgrade Commercial Street came about in January 2019. Work began in May 2020, with the following December as the deadline.

After being delayed by the pandemic, the street was inaugurated by then Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in July 2021. A month later, Revenue Minister R Ashok ordered the contractor to replace the tiles. Then, the expert committee decided on whitetopping. “We are happy with the result. We had thought of marble stones, like on Church Street, but they aren’t durable enough to deal with vehicular traffic,” said Sanjay Motwani, President of the Bangalore Commercial Association.

Concrete pavers were considered for their aesthetic value. “White-topping is a practical choice and less attractive but we have submitted a proposal to an architect to include aesthetic elements,” Motwani said. “BSCL engineers should include artificial plants and other decorative devices apart from putting up information boards for the public,” he explained, adding that white-topping work will keep the road in good shape for the next 15 years.