The double-decker flyover in the city, which was originally scheduled for completion in October 2021 but has faced delays, is expected to be completed by March 2023.
The 3.3 km flyover, located between Ragigudda and Central Silk Board on Marenahalli Road, will have a lower deck for vehicles and an upper deck for the Namma Metro. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is responsible for construction of the flyover.
This will be the first time a Metro line is running above a flyover in the city. The elevated road is being built 8m above the existing road level and the Metro line will be 16m above the surface. Similar structures are already in use in cities such as Jaipur, Nagpur and Mumbai.
BMRCL chief public relations officer BL Yashwanth Chavan said: “The structure will be completed by March 2023 but work on loops and ramps near CSB junction will continue beyond this period. The road flyover has to be connected to the loops and ramps for motorists to use the facility. This work has just commenced.”
Officials said the section between Ragigudda and CSB will be a signal-free corridor and the new structure is expected to decongest the stretch marred by severe traffic snarls during peak hours. Four lanes of the elevated road and four lanes of the surface road will improve the situation.
Work has commenced on three ramps/loops: A (towards Electronics City), B (BTM Layout to Electronics City/HSR Layout), and C (towards HSR Layout). Work on the other two – D (HSR Layout to BTM Layout) and E (HSR Layout to BTM Layout) – will be taken up soon. A BMRCL official said: “While A, B and C ramps will be ready by June 2023, D and E will be done by December 2023.”
In May 2021, BMRCL awarded work order to Afcons Infrastructure Ltd for the construction of these loops and ramps for the 2.8km structure at CSB. “Work was delayed because of various factors such as poor participation of reputed firms in the tender since it is complex work. There was also a delay in getting permission for cutting trees,” a BMRCL source said.
2 Metro stations at CSB
Two Metro lines – RV Road-Bommasandra and Central Silk Board-KR Puram – will crisscross at CSB junction. The earlier plan was to integrate both stations at the congested junction. Officials said the distance between these two is 355m and the plan is to connect them by a travelator. “The travelator connection between the two stations will be ready while commissioning Central Silk Board station of Blue Line,” Chavan said.
