Mon Oct 21 10:54:51 UTC 2024: Published – October 21, 2024 04:24 pm IST – BengaluruMotorists travelling from Mysuru to Bengaluru highway stuck in a traffic jam on the Kumbalgodu elevated corridor for over 1 km from Panchamukhi Ganesha temple to NICE Road junction, near Kengeri, in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
You drive for less than two hours on a smooth, access-controlled highway from Mysuru to Bengaluru only to find yourself stuck in traffic for an hour as you descend from the Kumbalgodu elevated flyover. Frustrating, right?
This is the reality for motorists travelling between the two cities, particularly on weekends. The time-saving journey feels like a trade-off.
Covering the 117-kilometer distance on the access-controlled highway should take roughly two hours, but once drivers reach the outskirts of Bengaluru, the last kilometer between Panchamukhi Ganesha temple and the NICE Road Junction becomes an exhausting crawl, taking at least an additional hour to pass this stretch.
Despite the ongoing bumper-to-bumper traffic issues since the highway’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12, 2023, several interventions have been suggested to address the congestion, particularly at the Kumbalgodu elevated corridor.
One proposed solution is to extend the elevated flyover to the NICE Road Junction. While traffic management efforts are currently in place, with police deploying additional personnel on weekends, better coordination among authorities is still needed.Additionally, the construction of a foot-over-bridge (FoB) near the Challaghatta metro station aims to enhance pedestrian safety and reduce the risks associated with heavy traffic.
The problem worsens during the evenings, when over 70,000 vehicles use the Bengaluru-Mysuru National Highway on weekends. The heavy traffic flow leads to severe congestion on the elevated stretch between the highway and Bengaluru city, making weekend travel a nightmare for both commuters and local residents.
The Hindu visited the area over the weekend and found bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Vehicles crawled near the Panchamukhi Ganesha temple, where traffic from the flyover and service road merged, creating a major bottleneck.
Despite the presence of traffic police, the congestion persisted, with frustrated motorists honking and struggling to make progress.
One frequent motorist, Sharath Kumar, a Mysuru-based businessman, said, “The time saved by driving smoothly on the highway is completely lost in the slow-moving traffic as soon as we approach Bengaluru. During weekends, entering and exiting the highway using the Kumbalgodu elevated corridor is almost impossible. It’s disheartening to see the time you save on the highway just vanish from Challaghatta to Deepanjali Nagar.”
Another commuter, Vinil Rao, who often travels between the two cities for work, echoed these concerns. “I usually plan my trips to avoid peak hours, but even then, the traffic buildup at the NICE Road Junction is a major hassle. Weekends are worse. After rain, in the last two days the road just after the elevated flyover was flooded. The authorities have to take note of this and solve the traffic and flooding issues. It feels like the highway is great until you hit the bottleneck, and from there, it’s just endless waiting.”
The Bengaluru traffic police officials have acknowledged the issue and identified the main culprit. A police official, who was present on the spot, explained, “The main reason for the traffic bottleneck from the NICE Road Junction to Panchamukhi Ganesha temple is that vehicles coming from Mysuru Road tend to avoid the toll by using the service road. This leads to a convergence of traffic from both the elevated flyover and the service road at this junction. It’s a choke point. Only after vehicles pass the NICE Road Junction does the situation improve slightly.”The official further added, “We had previously approached the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), urging them to address this issue. During weekends, we deploy additional traffic personnel to manage the flow, but it’s only a temporary solution. The traffic volume at this junction is just too high.”
Local residents, who are impacted by the constant stream of vehicles, are equally frustrated.
Nandini K., a resident of Kumbalgodu, said, “The traffic from the highway is not just a problem for motorists. it’s affecting our daily lives. We’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic all the time because the authorities have failed to coordinate and sort out the traffic issues here. Roads around Challaghatta, Kumbalgodu, Ramohalli Road, Doddabale are always congested.”
BBMP officials have responded to these complaints, stating that they had previously recommended extending the elevated flyover all the way to the NICE Road Junction, which would allow vehicles to bypass the congestion. However, the project faces limitations due to the presence of the elevated metro corridor, making road widening or new flyover construction a challenge.
A senior BBMP official stated, “We had suggested that a flyover until the NICE Road Junction would significantly ease the traffic situation, but with the metro corridor in place, there’s very little scope for road expansion. We’re now re-evaluating the options to see what can be done to alleviate the congestion.”
In addition to the vehicular traffic, pedestrian safety at the junction has become a major concern. With thousands of people using the Challaghatta metro station, crossing the road has become dangerous due to the lack of pedestrian infrastructure.
Recognizing this issue, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has granted permission for the construction of a foot-over-bridge (FoB) near the metro station.
“Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will be constructing the FoB soon, which will help metro commuters cross safely without risking their lives in the heavy traffic,” the BBMP official added.Published – October 21, 2024 04:24 pm IST
Karnataka / bengaluru / Mysore / public works & infrastructure
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