To Ease Traffic Flow to BIAL

From : Manoj Jain

132, Palace Cross Road,

Bangalore – 560020. Phone : 23440341

Email : jain@vsnl.com

Subject : Fresh Obstructions on NH 7 to the New International Airport

The government has tried to do a wonderful job to connect Rajbhawan to BIAL, by removing signal lights from Cauvery junction, BDA junction and now near Anandnagar, CBI Junction & Cunningham Road junction, using the debate-able Magic Box technology. To further smoothen the flow of traffic, the road along the Golf Course, Hebbal etc has been widened.

However it is sad that new and fresh signal lights have emerged very recently at locations just before Jakkur Air strip, Byatrayanpura, and near Kodigehalli. These three signal lights have slowed the journey tremendously to and from BIAL. Already, traffic collected does not clear in one signal cycle. Right now the traffic flow of BIAL is least. It is going to only grow and so will the problem at these signal lights. Plus the huge speed breakers, installed before the signal lights can into existence, further slows traffic flow. Only here in world can one see both speed breakers and signal lights, as if designed deliberately in vengeance against road users. At least these need to be removed urgently.

So much has been done to get smooth flow of traffic from Rajbhavan to BIAL on NH 7. A lot of tax-payers money has been spent, hundreds of lovely great trees have been brought down everywhere especially near Golf course & short term solutions of magic boxes is implemented. But the newly installed signal lights between Hebbal flyover and Yelahanka have rendered all these efforts and expenditure futile. The main road/highway to BIAL must be made without any breaks in the median/road divider. Thus, no right- turns or u-turns from or into NH 7 or BIAL road.

For pedestrians, good quality overhead crossing bridges need to be provided.

Yes, there is a true problem at hand for which signal lights had to be installed. The right turns into the BIAL highway/NH 7; and right turns from BIAL road/NH 7 have to be provided for Jakkur, Byatrayanpura, Yelahanka, Sahkarnagar & Kodigehalli users. Without these signal lights, those citizens will be helpless.

The simple solution to this problem is to construct flyovers specifically for U turns. Such U-turn flyovers start from one of the service roads, go up a ramp, gain the height, turn and simultaneously cross the highway; and land on the other side service road after completing shape of ‘U’. One such pair can be installed before Kodigehalli and after Jakkur/VidyaShilp School. This way, any traffic that needs to turn right on NH 7, must first travel along the highway in the direction of their entry into NH 7, use the flyover providing U-turn, land again on NH 7 in the changed direction.

The advantages of such fly-overs meant for u-turns are :

1. They can be installed without any major effect on the current traffic to and form BIAL on NH 7.
2. The construction of the pillars for such flyovers will not affect the flow of traffic to and from BIAL on NH 7. Only one pillar ( for each such flyover ) will be situated in the centre of the road divider. The other two pillars will be located in the gap between main highway and the service road. Other sections can be pre-cast elsewhere and only placed into position once pillars are cured and ready to bear the load..
3. These flyovers for U turns can be just double carriage way coz these will not have too heavy traffic – as compared to BIAL road.
4. If the authorities foolishly think of elevating the entire NH 7 highway over all these areas, then it will seriously obstruct BIAL traffic for more than one year and the cost will be far too high. In that case the entire highway of 6 carriage-ways will have to be raised at a whopping cost and extra ordinarily long time.
5. Pedestrians overpass to cross NH 7 can also rest on the same pillars. It will reduce cost of a separate pedestrian overpass.
6. These U-turn flyovers can be seen in many countries, especially in Thailand. These are both effective and cost effective means of solving the problem.
7. For immediate use, one pair will be enough. One can be installed near the Yelahanka exit just after Jakkur air-strip. The direction of this U-turn fly-over will be coming from city side and turning back towards city. So residents of farther most areas like Kodigehalli, wanting to go towards city side, will travel all the way upto Jakkur, use this flyover and proceed towards city.

1. The other of reverse direction can be near Sahakarnagar/Columbia Asia Hospital with direction of coming from BIAL and taking U-turn over the NH 7, and going back towards BIAL. The residents of farthest areas like Jakkur, wanting to go towards BIAL will travel upto Columbia Asia, use the flyover, and proceed towards BIAL direction.
2. If just one pair of two such flyovers does not suffice, then another pair can be proposed in between these two farthest points.

This is one proposed solution and more solutions can be thought about, but only from reputed organizations like IISc, IITs or IIMs or from technically qualified ‘independent’ organization. They have personnel with tremendous knowledge, world wide exposure, deep sense of application of practical solutions, and most important, and a serious concern to cut down needless expenditure of tax payer’s money.

Traffic problems can not be solved with short term goals thus can not be solved by suggestions, proposals and advice of most of the beaurocrats or politicians. These problems must be studied, proposed, designed and verified by institutes like IISc, IIMs, IITs or by technically qualified independent organizations. Only then should the tenders be floated and politician introduced into the process. Let the politicians have a piece of the cake called as expenditure of public money. If not, progress will be obstructed by them and needless delays etc will occur. It should not happen at the cost of poor planning, inefficient designing, technologically unsound proposals and interfered implementation of any road traffic problem faced by the common man and honest tax payers.

Thanking you,

Yours truly,

Manoj Jain