Why not a surface level light rail system/ tram all the way upto the airport on the same route? 

The magix boxes are to be dismantled. The only issue shall be the archaic Mekhri circle underpass and the iconic Windso Manor Underpass.

According to Sudhindra Rao, the person who had authored an article on the feasibility of trams for Bangalore if GOK decides to go for tunnel hybrid train system then the existing structures could be retained and a light rail system could become a reality.

L&T can surely build a light rail system when they can handle Hyderabad's Metro. Now, the question is "How come L&T has quoted so low for the construction of a steel flyover"

The project will require chopping of 500 trees on private land. The national college flyover was a disaster for the once verdant Basavanagudi.

The vision group is filled with Elitist chaps who just want elevated roads. Bangalore's so called pride gave us the tenth wonder of the world known as NH7 elevated expressway, which is gridlocked day in and day out. A former CEO of this company does not seem to know the difference between commuter rail and suburban rail and he was looking to win from South Bangalore.

Naveen, I won't castigate the government twenty years now.

Light Rail + Suburban rail shall solve the issues.

The need for metro to Yelahanka shall be obviated if Yeshwanthpur- Yelahanka and BYPL- Channasandra- Yelahanka lines are used optimally.

Yelahanka is being developed as a terminal but the design and planning is not forward looking.

Extension of Nagawara to IIMB line is probably the best way to connect Metro to the airport.

As a like for like comparison, let us look at Bangalore vs. Delhi. The presence of a vast metro network has not meant that the demand for regional rail has died down.

Secondly, the larger suburban network which takes helps people travel from Delhi to towns as far as Rewari is still quite popular.  Ring railway may not be popular but this network is popular.

Thirdly, do you want people to continue to suffer the traffic woes while travelling to Whitefield, ORR, Bidadi, GVC and wait endlessly while continuously saying,"Metro Baruthe, Metro baruthe." I don't see a reason as to why residents of Vijayanagar, RR Nagar, Byappanhalli, Whitefield can not use trains,which are being run from SBC to Mandya or from SBC to Bangarpet to reach their destination. Residents of these localities also have the option of Metro. 

In most localities Metro runs parallel to rail lines across the length and breadth of the city. This can be the case with some localities but not all localities. 

Areas like Magadi Road or Sadashivanagar can't be reached through Metro or suburban even after Phase two is complete. I thought Metro would chiefly connect areas, which could not be reached through suburban rail. How does a man living in Jayanagar but working in MG Road reach his office?  Does he travel by Metro and change over at Majestic or would he drive to his office? The latter is easier. Better co-ordination and planning between SWR and BMRCL could have avoided issues such as these. 

I don't see a reason as to why connectivity to areas such as Yelahanka and Cantonment can't be achieved through suburban rail.

Multimodal transport exists worldwide and people don't seem to have a problem shifting from one mode to another. This seems to be a problem in India particularly Bangalore where every agency operates on a silo.

A few trains and track congestion? I don't know what SWR speaks about and how can you say that a few trains will help. SWR's babus are the most inefficient lot in railways. We were better off under Southern railway when trains were being run to HAL and Bangarpet.

When was the last time that they carried out any significant infrastructure upgrade notwithstanding the Binny Mills issue!

It is true that SBC is beyond redemption because of its inherent design flaws and it would have to demolished before we even start to think of running local trains at frequent intervals. This is not going to happen.

Bangalore needs terminals in all the four directions and these termnals need to be planned with a 100 year vision so that it could accomodate local trains and also act as a multi modal hub. It is next to impossible to travel to a super congested Majestic on any long weekend. Most things seem to start and end with KBS and SBC in Bangalore as it used in the 70s. 

GOK proposed a modified suburban railway for Bangalore. So, why does not GOK and Railways get together and act on that? BYPL- Channsandra- YNK-KIAL line is underutilized and I don't see an issue with local trains being run on this line. The modified proposal also looks at local trains from BYPL to WFD. What it means is Whitefield gets connected to KIAL quite easily. Imagine driving on this stretch vis Marathalli, KR Puram and ORR, which is just horrible. I hope the railway engineers don't mess up the pretty BYPL station with their flawed design during the course of expansion.

Jnanabharathi station is conveniently located on Mysore road and there is a lot of land around the station unlike Kengeri which has no scope for expansion. It is also not that easy to reach that station. Do GOK and Railways want to kill Namma Railu even before it starts?

BYPL- Channsandra- YNK-KIAL line is underutilized and I don't see an issue with local trains being run on this line. The modified proposal also looks at local trains from BYPL to WFD. What it means is Whitefield gets connected to KIAL quite easily.

Tracks are being doubled and hope we see some trains on this route soon. However, it won't attract air travelers, especially those with luggage as there will be too many transfers from auto /taxi to train and again bus /taxi from trumpet to KIAL.

Delhi is getting a Maglev based Regional Rail in addition to Metro.

Where is this kind of planning in Bangalore? We have incompetent transport ministers in Karnataka who think DULT and transport ministry is all about KSRTC and BMTC.

Delhi has a dispropotionately large amount of assistance from GoI. See this article. And GoK is a weakling in as far as extracting GoI assistance is concerned. Agree their planning for transport infra in the city has been very poor.

there a lot of industries in Chikkaballapur and Kolar and most of the people working here find it difficult to reach their work place. Do we build a metro to these towns to solve commuting issues?

I can find flwg trains to Chikballapur /Kolar :

From Bangalore:

1) 76551/KSR Bengaluru - Kolar DEMU (Via Chik Ballapur)  (0830-1300 hrs)

2) 76505/Bengaluru Cantt. - Kolar DMU  (1755-2015 hrs)

3) 56525/KSR Bengaluru - Kolar Passenger (UnReserved)  (via Chikballapur, 1810-2100 hrs)

To Bangalore:

1) 56526/Kolar - KSR Bengaluru Passenger (UnReserved)  (via Chikballapur, 0755-0945 hrs)

2) 06596/Chikballapur - Yesvantpur DEMU Special  (1240-1425 hrs)

3) 76552/Kolar - KSR Bengaluru DEMU (Via Chik Ballapur)  (1555-1800 hrs)

Proper integration fo suburban rail with metro shall ensure that people shall use trains instead of buses. What is required is proper integration and co-ordination and not operation in Silos!

We know the way Indian railways functions, firmly chained to a low-service, low-priced equilibrium, mired in politics and being used for gaining political advantage, the entrenched focus being more on production rather than service. Rigidities in control, procurement and incremental development due to low financial capacity have all combined and created a formidable barrier to change that is very hard to break. This approach may have been acceptable in the past when majority of passengers were captives interested mainly in low fares, but this is no longer the case now.

The new central govt has just announced that future rail budgets would be included as part of the main budget, thus delinking railways from politics to some extent, for a start. The focus to unshackle railways from outdated heirarchial practices will take time and sustained effort, but there is some recognition of the need for change. The arrival of metro systems has further eroded public perceptions in suburban rail systems whilst providing opportunities for certifying of metro rail systems by officials from railways to take pot shots and also for railways to demand their "pound of flesh" for right of ways, permissions, etc making co-operation a one way street, generally.

The dilemma for GoK has been to deal with Bangalore's heavy traffic congestion on top priority through a metro rail system whilst adopting a strategy of pressing for a suburban rail service through the railways, time-consuming as it is bound to be (as per past experiences country-wide - including various phases of MUTP-Mumbai and MMTS-Hyderabad, let alone other informal systems). GoK, not owning nor having much say combined with the realities of an insufficient and highly restrictive city rail network has only relegated the suburban system to one of lower priority, "whenever it comes through".

In the ensemble that may evolve with changes over efflux of time, it can only be hoped that it evolves primarily in public interest and results in better co-operation between state and railways, though so far there has been no co-ordination, yet.

Six trains per day shall solve the problem?

See table below, extracted from 2012 RITES report on suburban Rail. These numbers may have increased now, but the point is that commuters are meagre (a mere 1500 in 2012).

The only way commuter numbers can be increased is to have more stations within CBDs & also at commuter points along the route with bus halts also added. Extracts of recommended additional stations made are on table below. Item-3 is Yelahanka-Chikballapur (all new stations recommended are shaded in brown).

It isn't relevant for Suburban Rail if there is an elitiist IT crowd in Bangalore or if they want to wait for Metro till 2046 or whenever - its their choice anyway.

The likes of ACC, Praxair, Mitsubishi, Raymonds, Pricot, Titan, Archid Ply etc need to make their case heard to GoK, if their employees are really facing the commuting issues that you claim. If one of their CEO's has been BCIC chair person, I'm sure he would have tried his best & may be this is the reason why there are trains running to Chikballapur, commensurate with the number of travelers.

I hope you are capable of understanding that it isn't possible to keep running empty trains to Chikballapur & back or anywhere else for that matter just because tracks exist, hoping that city congestion somehow disappears. Further, your repeated talk of doomedsday scenarios makes no sense and isn't going to change anything as explained in several posts above.

And BTW the 'Call To Action' report was prepared by Praja. Prof.Sitaram, head of CiStup /IISC at that time had endorsed it by writing the forward.

Agreed about IT crowd imagining that they are the only ones contributing to city economy, their head honchos gunning for elevated roads, flyovers etc and the nonsense by govt, steel flyover is but one example. Also, agree about whitefield - I don't approve of their high handedness either.

However, could you explain and provide sources for following:

1) KIAL willing to build a monorail?

2) Bombay rayon closing down due to "poor industrial climate"?

3) Toyota, Bosch and Marco Polo facing "issues because of poor industrial climate"?

4) "70% of auto ancillary industries in Belgaum are in trouble"? Not sure about Belgaum but Dharwad has attracted lot investment in auto industries.

See the following reports that do not support what you say:

Honda 2wheelers to invest Rs 600 cr in karnataka plan expansion

TVS gets green signal from GoK to expand Mysuru facility

Toyota starts new engine facility in Bengaluru

Light Combat Vehicle Production Unit in Dharwad on the Cards

PM Narendra Modi to lay foundation of HAL's helicopter facility Sunday in Karnataka

There have been many other industrial investments as well. Eg. Aequs /API SEZ in Belgaum.

I do not have the link to the state of industries in Belgaum, which I read a couple of months back. I shall share it as soon as I obtain the link.

The halt railway station shall be of no use if there is no monorail from the trumpet flyover to the terminal.

There is nothing wrong in having more than one rail network to KIAL provided it serves the need of not just airport users but also people working in and around the airport.

Bring in the investment to Chikkaballapur and Kolar and develop these areas as satellite towns. The demand for suburban rail  shall automatically be there. 

Given the lower cost of living and lower pollution levels, I would not mind relocating if the government provides jobs in these towns and works on basic infra.

Nothing wrong with having many rail connections to KIAL but they must have riders, not empty coaches. And monorail is not a necessity between KIAL & trumpet. Buses can do the same job even better with no investment. Besides, when metro is built right up to airport, that can also be used between trumpet and KIAL.

Chikballapur and Kolar are already satellite towns, as are Dodballapur, Nelamangala, Tumkur, Bidadi, Jigani, Anekal, Sarjapur, Malur etc and there are industries and jobs in these towns.

Thus your argument: "Bring in the investment to Chikkaballapur and Kolar and develop these areas as satellite towns" seems only to argue the case for suburban rail when stats don't support it, unfortunately. 1.5 lakhs is not sufficient to justify even 50km, let alone a 440km network.

http://www.thehindu.com/n...

http://www.thehindu.com/n...

This debt is Siddha and Yeddy's contribution to Karnataka's economy. Whether you accept it or not Karnataka's politicians react and get things done only when pushed by the Industry.

The growth of 7% could have been much higher had Siddha and his colleagues been pro active.

Do the ministers of GOK have any economic vision bar maybe a Krishna Byre Gowda? The problem with Krishna Byre Gowda is that he talks a lot and does precious little. All other colleagues of his have a very poor understanding of economics.

Even a Captain Amrinder Singh seems very erudite when compared to the likes of Siddha, DVS, Shettar and Yeddy.

If you are keen on playing the devil's adovocate and showing a proclivity to hailing the badly executed Namma Metro, then good luck to you.

I don't think GOK has a case considering the way the disgruntled goons of some of MLAs and sacked ministers behaved after the cabinet reshuffle.

Siddha has time only to protect his seat and create a lot of friction between the erstwhile JD(S) and native Congressmen. He has no time to think about the state.

By the way, I personallly know a lot of people from Tumkur and Chikkaballapur who stay in Bangalore because of the commuting issues.

It is a shame that the babus of GOK have not solved issues pertaining to 1990s even in 2016. I don't see any increase in pace of metro construction. They shall continue to find excuses like we hit hard roock, we found under water spring and the hoi-polloi of Bangalore shall continue to bear and grin and keep saying "Metro baruthe, Metro baruthe."

Adios!

You would do well not to resort to bracketing a person as being close minded when you have not even met that person. 

I was well aware of the issues that you have made a mention of and I pretty well know that Bangalore at the most could have a LC/ LB (Lucknow) kind of a system. 

I stand by views on KA's politicians and Namma Metro. I am sure a lot of people have the same view.

Enjoy the rides in grid locked Bangalore!

Au Revoir and Good Luck!

To share your point of view, call SHivashankar / BDA  : 9845630131 or write to eo1ta2@gmail.com

The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) on Monday invited suggestions from citizens on the proposed six-lane steel bridge that will connect Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal grade separator.

The BDA said Larsen and Tubro and Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd have participated in the tender process and so far, Larsen and Tubro has quoted the lowest rates. However, the tender is yet to be finalized, the agency said. Passing through Mehkri Circle, the bridge will be constructed using a new technology and will be made of steel and concrete as this has been found to be appropriate for sustainable development and pollution-free environment, it said.

BDA said the process could be completed in a comparatively less time. According to the Institute For Steel Development and Growth, an associate organization of the directorate of steels, government of India, building a steel bridge will ensure minimum sound pollution in surrounding areas.Before undertaking the project, the BDA prepared the estimates based on item rates approved by the PWD for 2014-15 and obtained administrative and technical sanction for Rs 1,350 crore.

http://epaperbeta.timesof...

With mounting pressure, BDA finally made this document public. But, it raises more questions than it answers.

I see very little hope for Namma Bengaluru.

As our good friend from Washington Khader Syed would say, "We are on the fast lane to disaster."

An article titled "Steel Flyover issue: Is Bengaluru's Civil Society scoring self goals?" by Balaji Chitra Ganesan had appeared in Citizen Matters (accessible here), largely critical of the opposers. The following was what I attempted to post in response, but failed (the editor informed that there were some technical issues), and consequently, posting here:

My objections are more to the whole approach than this steel bridge by itself. Quite as Kiran Mazumdar Shah has now stated, these piecemeal approaches have to go and we have to have more holistic solutions. Towards that end, we have to first decide, whether we want Bengaluru to develop like Houston/ LA (largely car-centric - Mr Vivek Menon's dream, perhaps), or like London/ New York/ Singapore (largely public transport-centric). Without hesitation, I'd pitch for the latter. I had in fact stated ny vision, along those lines, as far back as in the 80's, as accessible here.

When that's decided, many things then become clearer.

Then comes the matter of genuine public consultation. If the government is convinced of the merits of its proposal, where's the problem in placing it before the public and getting the buy-in? We are now told that the government first came up with this "steel flyover" proposal as far back as in 2010. So, why did it keep all the info on it under wraps all along? Even to queries under RTI, why was it being evasive? Only after some details were made public (under pressure from the people), did it show up that one of the biggest bottlenecks along the stretch, viz the Hebbal junction, was not covered under the scope of the flyover, and then the government had to go back to the drawing boards to include that too. Likewise, there are many other short-comings, particularly with regard to accesses along the way, that Shree and others have pointed out. So, is the govt going to be looking at all of them too? What happens to the overall costs then?

Also, the costs of doing up the road below the flyover, after the main work is completed, is very likely to have been omitted, in order to project a lower cost, leading to such works remaining undone, quite as we have been seeing repeatedly.

Essentially, because of its stealthy ways, governments enjoy very little credibility among the public. The government needs to work on that first.

An interesting thing I noticed in passing, while viewing the traffic simulation video clip (accessible here) the first time, but more clearly now (viewing it on a lap-top) is that the entire structure, as shown in the simulation, appears to be made from concrete, and not steel. Is that by oversight, or is that how it's going to be? If it's going to be concrete, then the construction speed advantage goes out of the window. And, if it's steel, the question of periodical maintenance comes in, on which I have already commented at sl no 4 in my post of 13th Oct (scroll above, to read).

The loss of the 800 odd full grown trees is another heart-rending factor. Worst is the prospect of replacing them with 'ornamental' trees (I'd any day prefer even concrete to those dumb palms).

Considering all of the above, wouldn't it be much better to smoothen out the Begur, Budigere, Dodballapur, Peripheral ring road approaches, apart from "Namma Railu" option (check here ) rather than go for this monstrosity running through the heart of the city, that's going to take away even that last bit of a claim that the city presently has to the title of "garden city"?

Besides, is it going to end with this flyover? There's already the talk of North-South/ East-West Corridors, and what have you. That's where I believe we need to get our vision stated clearly first before venturing out onto such ultra-mega projects.

Thanks Murali sir for taking the time to respond to my article. Please find my rejoinder.
 

>> My objections are more to the whole approach than this steel bridge by itself. Quite as Kiran Mazumdar Shah has now stated, these piecemeal approaches have to go and we have to have more holistic solutions.

I believe Ms. Shah herself supports elevated corridors. Any long term Mobility plan with such corridors I believe will include this elevated section between Chalukya and Hebbal. Lets not wait for Best to stop the Good. Further, I'm slightly disappointed that BBPAG members (BBPAG was formed in May 2016) are making adverse comments about a project for which funds were allocated by the Karnataka Assembly in the 2014-15 budget. Page 92, section 328 unambiguously says:

328. Construction of Elevated Corridor from Basaveshwara Circle (Chalukya Circle) to Hebbal Junction at a cost of Rs. 1100 crore will be taken up.

Its under BDA line items. 

http://www.finance.kar.ni...

I leave it to the wisdom of the Praja if civil society members should ask govt to second guess the Karnataka Assembly, formed by the will of the Praja.

>> Towards that end, we have to first decide, whether we want Bengaluru to develop likeHouston/ LA (largely car-centric - Mr Vivek Menon's dream, perhaps), or like London/ New York/ Singapore (largely public transport-centric).

I don't believe its a choice. We have to live in reality. Bengaluru is India's 3rd largest metropolitan area, with people having decent disposable income. Number of private vehicles are going to increase, no matter what some people wish. Govt has to address reality rather than wishful thinking. Still, I lived in Los Angeles for two years and used Rapid (on Wilshire) and Santa Monica Blue bus for office commute. I can assure you, Bengaluru is no way as bad as LA and it never will be.

We should aim to be Paris/NYC?London in 20 years time. But in the next 20 years, we should try to be Phoenix/Kualalumpur. Please see how I10 and I17 along with ring roads, make Phoenix the mirror of Bengaluru. All freeway criss cross the city and are elevated or below surface. It also has a long tunnel. I wish we can build a tunnel from Chalukya to Richmond road, but I don't think we can afford. Take a look at Kualalumpur too.

>> Then comes the matter of genuine public consultation. If the government is convinced of the merits of its proposal, where's the problem in placing it before the public and getting the buy-in? We are now told that the government first came up with this "steel flyover" proposal as far back as in 2010. So, why did it keep all the info on it under wraps all along? Even to queries under RTI, why was it being evasive?

This is completely false and only shows the praja as lazy. This flyover has been common knowledge to anyone following news. As linked above, its on the 2014-15 budget speech itself with 1100 crore allocated. If Praja is not paying attention to 1100 crore spending, what to say? All tender documents have completely public on govt e-procurement website. You can now read every document here: http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/bda-steel-flyover-tender-documents Expecting BDA to be great at communication is too much. They are getting better after this controversy. https://twitter.com/BDABLR/with_replies

>> Only after some details were made public (under pressure from the people), did it show up that one of the biggest bottlenecks along the stretch, viz the Hebbal junction, was not covered under the scope of the flyover, and then the government had to go back to the drawing boards to include that too.

This is again totally unfair criticism. BDA had planned solutions for Hebbal Junction long before the steel flyover approval. This should have been obvious to anyone reading newspapers. 1. Underpass on ORR under Hebbal Flyover, 2. Demolishing slip road towards Nagawara and making that traffic go left and take the underpass. 3. New flyover from Nagawars side to Airport side descending at Esteem mall. 4. Extra lane on the main carriageway of the flyover. There were all planned long ago and the work was inaugurated by Bengaluru Development Minister in May 2016. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/544027/work-upgrading-hebbal-flyover-begins.html

All along the plan was to let Steel Flyover traffic descend before Hebbal junction and fix the latter as above. Now responding to public suggestions, BDA has even provided a solution to integrate steel flyover with Hebbal flyover. This only a plan btw. Not DPR. Decision rests with Govt. BDA is doing its job well on this instance. http://bdabangalore.org/INTEGRATION%20PLAN%20(17-10-2016).pdf

>> Likewise, there are many other short-comings, particularly with regard to accesses along the way, that Shree and others have pointed out. So, is the govt going to be looking at all of them too? What happens to the overall costs then?

I have replied to Shree's comments after comments problem was fixed. Please see: http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/bengaluru-steel-flyover-advantages According to me, no changes are needed to address Shree's concerns.

>> Also, the costs of doing up the road below the flyover, after the main work is completed, is very likely to have been omitted, in order to project a lower cost, leading to such works remaining undone, quite as we have been seeing repeatedly.

This seems true. I fully agree. Frankly this is the only intelligent objection I have heard in the entire controversy. Murali sir, you are smart :)

>> Steel vs Concrete

I have no hard position on steel vs concrete. If BDA believes Steel Flyover is possible, I don't want to suspect their claims. I don't have the expertise either. BDA built modern Bengaluru! Lets give them that. I heard concerns about tonnage and cost esclation because of piers also being steel. I would also like to know more and see BDA respond to such criticism.

>> Trees

Please. New trees can be planted. Lets protest to plant any tree, any number, any where as compensation. Millions of people in North Bengaluru are lot more important than 800 trees.

>> Besides, is it going to end with this flyover? There's already the talk of North-South/ East-West Corridors, and what have you. That's where I believe we need to get our vision stated clearly first before venturing out onto such ultra-mega projects.
 

I fully support the 5 elevated corridors projects. Atleast two prominent BBPAG members including Ms. Kiran Shaw support this too. Every benefit that I have listed in my article (bicycle lane, zebra crossing, bus lane, wide footpaths, safe neighborhood, less air pollution), all become possible only with elevated roads. Whether in Ballari road or elsewhere. We'll still need to push for them (like in Hosur road now), but thats the job of the Praja. Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty.

***

Finally, a personal note to Murali sir:

I'm planning to write another article: "Liberal solutions for Bengaluru's Mobility problems". This will include criticism of activists who are asking State govt to fund part of Namma Railu, instead of the Union govt which borrows 8 lakh crores from LIC to do regular maintanence works, runs Air India and spends on Bullet trains. Till then, I request you to please consider my replies and not dismiss them out of hand. Liberals can do much better than promoting the worst anarchist forms of protests and bullying of elected governments, by usual suspects. Thanks.

Hi Srinidhi,

Thanks for you comments. Please find my responses below.

>>  is it justified to have a near 100% escalation for the project in a span of one year?

Yes, its fully justified. BDA has put out a note explaining the cost escalation.

http://www.bdabangalore.o...

1. They assumed raw instead of the required kind of steel during their initial estimation. They have corrected a mistake.

2. They calculated VAT at 5% instead of 14.5% now.

We have to realize that 1100 in budget and 1300 later were BDA estimations. Such estimates have no meaning if no company is coming forward to bid at that rate. L & T bid for 1800 crore and after negotiations, its 1791 crore or something. As Murali sir pointed out earlier, this 1791 is likely an underestimate. By the time its complete, cost will escalate more. This is normal in all projects.

>>  Gustavo Petro

Gustavo Petro and Bogata are just a myth pedeled by some folks. Petro was able to build BRTS in Bogata because the city has an ultra mega freeway running through the city. Please take a look at Bogata map and look for Autopista Norte. Or see these images http://bit.ly/2exIzI7 If possible use google street view and see what an humongous freeway it is. There are dozens of grade separators and no signal anywhere. They started building this freeway even before Petro was born, let alone become the Mayor of Bogata. Without that freeway, Petro would not be able make such utopian statements.

If anything, we need that Autopista Norte here in Bangalore. The old NH7 (Ballari/Sankey/Hosur roads) should have been made elevated some 20/30 years ago. Let us complete it atleast now.

>> Building a flyover will not solve anything..in a matter of months that will also get clogged.

This is the chicken-and-egg problem. We can decongest roads if we have public transport. But no one will take buses because its ludicrously slow and is slow because of private vehicles!

We can solve this chicken-and-egg problem only by providing better infrastructure to public transport. I have written a whole article for citizen matters (linked above) explaining how this steel flyover benefits public transport more than any other road project.

>> Even L&T or STUP who did the DPR are not aware of the modifications!

This isn't a fair criticism. The DPR and tender was for the steel flyover that ends before Hebbal junction. Hebbal junction remodeling is a different project. BDA has only suggested a plan. Only if cabinet approves, will there be any DPR by STUP and any decision on whethere that can be part of the same L&T tender or not. There is a provision to add another 30% work to previous tender.

>> BDA was not responding to public suggestion, its a plain simple fact that one cannot merge 8 lanes(3 of steel bridge + 5 exisitng at grade) into 3 lanes(hebbal flyover) which forced them to think.

This is just commentary. BDA had started Hebbal junction remodeling work already. I have linked to news article and explained what they were attempting even before this steel flyover got going. City building is a continous process. 5 years from now we'll be discussing Hosur road steel flyover from Richmond to Silkboard, to complete the elevated corridor from Devanahalli to E-city.
 

>> first BDA said they will integrate with NHAI bridge and when NHAI resisted they decided to drop it 300 mts before that bridge.

NHAI doesn't want to connect 4 lanes of steel flyover directly into Airport flyover, because they built it for the ORR traffic and not Ballari road traffic from city. ORR is the current NH7. Once PRR is built and lorry traffic goes there, they might reconsider directly connecting steel flyover to airport flyover.

>> decent considering that flyover will fly-over the hebbal flyover..utterly stupid!
 

Steel flyover goes AROUND and not over. Its 12 meters higher otherwise ground level traffic cannot go to Hebbal junction upramps under steel flyover lanes. BDA and L&T cannot be accussed of not knowing such relatively simple things as descent angle!

>> Steel vs concrete

We all know the advantages of steel flyovers. Construction time is one of them. Less disturbance to traffic construction is another etc. I would say promote steel industry in Karnataka (it'll save jobs in Drought prone districts) and don't bother about any criticism.

Infact, looking at the recently opened Steel flyover in Kolkata, critcism of Steel flyovers is rather lukewarm. 2-3 degree more heat radiation. So? Is that a show stopper? Slightly more maintainance cost? So, concrete flyover also need maintaince. Steel flyover isn't aesthetic. Kolkata flyover looks as good or even better than most Bengaluru concrete flyovers. And BDA says, they can do a better job than Kolkata.

If anyone here has not seen the Kolkata steel flyover, please find photos in the BDA FAQ document.

http://www.bdabangalore.o...

Tirusailam served Meenabakam quite well. I have used it myself. 

Any other example of commuter rail serving airports could be highlighted from across the globe.

Yes, its fully justified. BDA has put out a note explaining the cost escalation.

http://www.bdabangalore.o...

1. They assumed raw instead of the required kind of steel during their initial estimation. They have corrected a mistake.

2. They calculated VAT at 5% instead of 14.5% now.

We have to realize that 1100 in budget and 1300 later were BDA estimations. Such estimates have no meaning if no company is coming forward to bid at that rate. L & T bid for 1800 crore and after negotiations, its 1791 crore or something. As Murali sir pointed out earlier, this 1791 is likely an underestimate. By the time its complete, cost will escalate more. This is normal in all projects.

Steel prices are down 50pc since last year, does it not offset the the varitations you mention above?

Also the cost of the adhoc extension plan varies from 'somewhere around 200 cr' as BDA said initially to over 500 cr today..who is drawing up the plans and costing it? doesnt it need a DPR?

 
>>  Gustavo Petro

Gustavo Petro and Bogata are just a myth pedeled by some folks. Petro was able to build BRTS in Bogata because the city has an ultra mega freeway running through the city. Please take a look at Bogata map and look for Autopista Norte. Or see these images http://bit.ly/2exIzI7 If possible use google street view and see what an humongous freeway it is. There are dozens of grade separators and no signal anywhere. They started building this freeway even before Petro was born, let alone become the Mayor of Bogata. Without that freeway, Petro would not be able make such utopian statements.

If anything, we need that Autopista Norte here in Bangalore. The old NH7 (Ballari/Sankey/Hosur roads) should have been made elevated some 20/30 years ago. Let us complete it atleast now.

Petro is just a name and bogota another place, but what is said is important. I would want to take my own example, just like all I 'graduated' from my cycle -> moped -> mobike -> hatch back car (2 of them) -> luxury sedan...now I am back to not owning any car..just make do with a 2 wheeler and a cycle, as I cannot access a reliable PT option where I stay..its not that I cannot afford a speedster or anything..I just dont want to! 

If we want better living conditions we need to focus on moving people and not private vehicles!
 

This is the chicken-and-egg problem. We can decongest roads if we have public transport. But no one will take buses because its ludicrously slow and is slow because of private vehicles!

We can solve this chicken-and-egg problem only by providing better infrastructure to public transport. I have written a whole article for citizen matters (linked above) explaining how this steel flyover benefits public transport more than any other road project.

If we need faster bus service as you say, lets go in for a BPS or a BRT, which is way cheaper..for 2300 crores, the whole of Bangalore can get BPS or BRT.

This isn't a fair criticism. The DPR and tender was for the steel flyover that ends before Hebbal junction. Hebbal junction remodeling is a different project. BDA has only suggested a plan. Only if cabinet approves, will there be any DPR by STUP and any decision on whethere that can be part of the same L&T tender or not. There is a provision to add another 30% work to previous tender.

Its these provisions which are put in for 'convinience'..a well designed project DPR will never lead a 8 lane road to a 3 lane bridge in the first place!

This is just commentary. BDA had started Hebbal junction remodeling work already. I have linked to news article and explained what they were attempting even before this steel flyover got going. City building is a continous process. 5 years from now we'll be discussing Hosur road steel flyover from Richmond to Silkboard, to complete the elevated corridor from Devanahalli to E-city.

If BDA was already thinking then it was a different project, diiferent DPR etc..why is it being 'pushed in' adhoc now..oh we will connect to NHAI bridge..oh no we will drop 300 mts earlier near esteem mall..no no we will drop 200 mts near columbia hospital..its not difficult to understand why infra is in a mess in blr today with such planning..

Steel flyover goes AROUND and not over. Its 12 meters higher otherwise ground level traffic cannot go to Hebbal junction upramps under steel flyover lanes. BDA and L&T cannot be accussed of not knowing such relatively simple things as descent angle!

Height is over and above the hebbal bridge..anyways L&T has gone on record that it doesnt even know of what BDA is planning..and BDA does not  and cannot plan they give their planning to consultants like STUP...who in this case are not involved!

We all know the advantages of steel flyovers. Construction time is one of them. Less disturbance to traffic construction is another etc. I would say promote steel industry in Karnataka (it'll save jobs in Drought prone districts) and don't bother about any criticism.

Infact, looking at the recently opened Steel flyover in Kolkata, critcism of Steel flyovers is rather lukewarm. 2-3 degree more heat radiation. So? Is that a show stopper? Slightly more maintainance cost? So, concrete flyover also need maintaince. Steel flyover isn't aesthetic. Kolkata flyover looks as good or even better than most Bengaluru concrete flyovers. And BDA says, they can do a better job than Kolkata.
 

What other advantages, except for the claimed 2 reasons 'fast' and 'minimal traffic diversions'..?? I bet L&T can be challenged to finish a precast concrete bridge faster at a fraction of the cost..

So all the steel needed for thsi project will come from Karnataka itself?? is that part of the contract? who is being foold here? L&T will go to who is cheaper..CHina mayve!

SLightly more maintenance? 86 cr per year??

Just to close on this discussion from my end, I know that this is stupid bridge is not being built for reasons of alleviating traffic issues, but for other unrelated reasons!

Regarding usage of steel flyover for public transport, Wheeler Road flyover is built, there is no public transport on it, same case with Electronic city corridor, Nelamangala Highway, even on New Airport road.

People are protesting govt policies are not market friendly, democratic, etc. then why we cannot protest against building a flyover. Govt is elected but they did not seek approval for flyover during election.

21 meters is equal to 6 story building. Costs increase about 3 times relation to height. This itself shows lack of planning. There are many cases like this in phase 1 metro like Mysore Road, Yeswantpura, CMH road etc. A structure like Hebbal flyover has to be final solution; those cannot be modified for longtine. Same is the case with demolition of magicboxes; they have also cost money to build and cannot just be abandaoned. There are so many roads that can be utilized to reduce the traffic at Hebbal juction like Hennur road, Nagwara junction, if good connectivity is provided.

Asking for public transport is not enough. Involvement is needed, like seeing the state of buses running now, do they run on time, how many routes are canceled. how many people have to stand when traveling, etc. People abandoned public transport in the hope they can solve the transportation by buying private vehicles without asking questions. Even when owning car, people have to see how BMTC runs because it is run on public money.

Protests are good. The problems of Bangalore are because of lack of protests. The asphalt on the Ring  Road is 2 feet thick, Roads are being concretised without provision for rainwater drainage, low quality pipes are used in sanitary drainage system. If there were protests or questions about these, the steel flyover could have been presented better.

And there are no roads in Bangalore. There is 21 km road per sq km in Delhi, in Bangalore it is 8 km, Nilekani had said. So 6000 km roads are missing in Bangalore. This is likely because of exemptions and regularisation of violations. why should residential areas given exemptions like gated communities? All this has reduced roads accessible to public and public transport. This will increase congestion in main roads and highly expensive steel flyover will be the only solution.

With the steel flyover project stuck in a legal tangle, government agencies are acting fast on alternative road projects to link the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) with various points of the city. The public works department has submitted a proposal to widen KR Puram-Budigere Road to a four-lane highway. M Lakshminarayana, principal secretary for PWD and transport department, said: "We are planning to widen Budigere Road and are awaiting government approval. The plan is to make the single road into a four-lane to facilitate flyers and freight movement to the airport from eastern and south eastern parts of the city."

For the full text of the report in the ToI, click here.

Well, the Budigere route is just one option. There are plenty more - Begur link; Peripheral Ring Road; Namma Railu; and more can be thought of. So, perhaps time to dump the steel flyover, stabbing through the heart of the city, altogether, bowing to the genuine popular demand. The government has only the ill-will of the people to lose, and in the process perhaps gain some goodwill too.