Hebbal flyover to be widened, tenders next month

NT Correspondent

Tenders for the widening of Hebbal flyover in Bengaluru will be called next month and a revised estimate of Rs 245 crore has been proposed, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Replying to Krishna Byregowda (Congress) in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, he said the work was sanctioned in 2017 but work on widening this particular flyover began in 2019. The flyover is like a gateway to Bengaluru and thousands of people use it to reach Kempegowda International Airport. In the meantime, the authorities of Namma Metro came out with a proposal to build a metro station which forced the government to halt the ongoing work. Due to delay in execution of the re-designed flyover work, this road witnesses traffic chaos daily with movement of vehicles reduced to a snail’s pace especially during the peak hours. 

The details of the redesigned flyover have been put on the public domain and suggestions have been invited in the wake of widespread criticism from citizens. The government will wait for 10-15 days for Bengalureans to express their views on the redesigned project. Meanwhile, the project cost has escalated to around Rs 245 crore. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is not in a position to shell out the whole project cost and in such a situation the government will not hesitate to pitch in. The stakeholders of the project are BMRCL, BDA, BBMP, KRDL and the state government. In all probability, tenders for the project will be called next month and the work would be completed as soon as possible keeping in view the interest of citizens.

Sarvagjnanagar MLA K.J. George said the previous Congress government had proposed a steel flyover from Hebbal to Chalukya Circle to ease traffic congestion but the project got caught in a controversy following strong objection by the BJP which was then in the opposition. The ruling Congress was accused of receiving kickbacks and the National Green Tribunal had stayed the project claiming that hundreds of trees would be cut. Ultimately, the project was shelved. Subsequently, the metro rail route too was changed and all these factors resulted in the slowdown of the re-designed flyover work.

Krishna Byregowda requested the government to hasten the flyover project for the benefit of Bengalureans.