If you want to imagine how the elevated highway is going to look post completion, start with few month old pictures from foto sun @ flickr (see below). The one on right is my favorite though.
Here is one thing I did not know about this Elevated tollway being built by Soma Enterprise. Government didn't have to pay a dime for this project. From what R K Mishra recently told me (he likes the idea of elevated roads built on PPP model as the elevation safeguards against entropy and land acquisition hassles, and these come at no cost to the government), this project is actually going to pay Rs 50-60 crores back to the government.
BTW, the elevated road will be starting just a bit after the silk board flyover. So expect crowding on toll gate right after you get down from that flyover. Though, I won't be surprised if the vehicle backup stretches all the way back to Madivala police station.
Another thing we sensed during recent interactions with BMRC folks is that the elevated road is going to create some problems for planning Metro alignment towards Electronics City/Jigani area. If aligning with Hosur Road, they'd have to build the metro on top of one of the service roads. And then, what do they do near the points where NICE Peripheral road joins Hosur Road, or where BDA's PRR is supposed to intersect Hosur Road? Go higher, or go under, or skirt around? Think, think and think, and perhaps go buy some cement and steel stocks :)
ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳು
My favorite shot is this one
I was picturing Metro running on top of these pillars. I am like man, can BMRC buy the BETL project from Soma right now and run trains on the elevated surface? Wonder how much load and vibration these pillars can take. Wonder if its possible for Soma to lease out center lane on BETL to Metro.
Forget if all this is possible or not, but we all imagine and dream, isn't it.
Extend your imagination a bit further and think what Rs 1000 crores could do to Outer Ring Road. May be 20 Magic box based bus only underpasses from Silk board to Hebbal. Assuming 10 crore each per set of magic passes, you'd still have some money left. Use this money (800 crores) to build TTMC like mega bus stops right on top of ORR at places where it cuts major radial roads. So think one mini TTMC each at Agara, Marathahalli, K R Pura, Jalahalli, Hennur and Hebbal crosses.
So then, I can take a bus to Marathahalli mini TTMC, change over to high speed bus on ORR, and then on to my Metro at silk board. Three easy changes, and I can do Whitefield to E-City in may be 35-40 minutes.
Dream!
When is expected
No dates on Soma's website
Look here on Soma's website
Only some fancy pictures and project stats, no dates there yet.
No Metro along Hosur Rd
SB,
From discussions with BMRC, it is more or less certain that there will be no metro route along Hosur road.
Sudhir Chandra had mentioned that he was not keen (at least for now) to run a Metro route along Hosur road with all those big structures there, & he is studying an option of providing a route to EC via Bannerghatta rd - NICE rd, instead, which will also do away with the need for monorail on bannerghatta rd (one of the planned monorail routes).
whats the size?
Dream can still be true...
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
BETL todays photos
Btw any guesses why the protrusion in the pillar? what are they gonna hang there?
Photo credits to Sukumar
BETL todays photos
Project not well thought through
SB,
I knew that the government had not spent any money (not out of pocket at least) on this project. But that is missing the point.
a. They gave away land in the middle of NH-7 for a project that could have been used for a Mass Transit system.
b. I cannot even imagine Silkboard Jn once this opens. If SB jn is not a bottleneck, god help BTM Layout traffic as the flow into that road on a PCU/hr level will be massive.
c. If a couple of cars breakdown on this elevated stretch, the only exits are at SB and EC. I hope they have some plans for towaway, else the poor man/woman is going to have hell. My own car broke down on Richmond Circle flyover and I realized that there are no steps leading down or even a narrow pavement on which one can walk safely.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Trams run by the builders on the Kerbs of BETL?
Why can't the builders of the BETL can run trams which are lighter than the Metros and has more carrying capacity than buses. Also they are slimmer.
Trams could be run on the Kerbs of the BETL with stations beneath at important junctions providing staircase and elevator access. 4 car tram should easily carry around 200 people. Another advantage is that trams are guided and we do not need buffer space on either sides like buses (if BRT is considered). This reduces the road width needed.
Whats in it for BETL?
Trams on BETL ?
Vasanth,
I dont think it will be possible to run trams on BETL, even if they wanted to because the viaduct may not be designed for it with respect to strength & width. It's a 4-lane road, & if trams have to be run, two lanes would be lost. This leaves only one lane each way, so overtaking may not be possible. Also, in case of vehicle breakdowns, all traffic in one direction will be halted, unless they make it a common 2-lane carriageway both ways, but then, safety will be an issue since vehicles will be moving at high speeds.
Further, additional width would be required at stations, also additional strengthening for the same & access arrangements might interfere with the road down below.
The solution is to run thro' buses to EC (non-stop) overhead, without needing any separate lanes since it is direct, without any interruptions inbetween, but this should be acceptable to BETL, who may demand high toll fee for such buses since it will cut down the no. of other vehicles that use their elevated expressway.
At the bottom, bus lanes need to be arranged due to available width, & to provide right of way since local traffic will interfere, especially at intermediate stops, but the way things are going, I doubt they will do anything at all & this will again favor car & 2-wheeler users, slowing down buses. Also, there is the question of the the terms under BETL's agreement - it may state that no mass transport is permitted on the route, in which case, common citizens have lost out to car users again, as usual.
Stupid idea to start with
This particular elevated road is a mammoth waste of private money and public land. We have swept dirt from our house to our neighbour's house. If there were 4 junctions along the way, 4 flyovers could have solved this problem. Simple solutions are obviously not the first option.
I have been on one of the longest elevated expressways in the world - the Bangkok - Chonburi motorway. It is 82 km long. On the way back from my factory (55 km from Bangkok) the first 50 km would take 25 mins and then the last 5 km (after getting off the motorway) would take 1 hr. Calculate the average speed for yourselves.
See the Gurgaon Delhi expressway - whatever time is saved on the journey is spent at toll booths! At peak hours (which problem the expressway has been built to solve) do you think the situation will be any better on our own pride of South Bangalore?
If you have any doubts that more roads (elevated or otherwise) don't solve the problem, just visit Bangkok. There are roads and roads on roads and roads on roads on roads. Flyovers resemble parking lots. When you drive you see the horrible underbellies of flyovers and elevated roads.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Elevated Roads are clearly not a Solution
I agree.
The first option should always be to provide proper public mass transport - buses are the easiest & least expensive. Instead of building infrastructure to facilitate faster movement of buses, we are building gigantic structures for movement of cars, completing ignoring the fact that this monstrous structure will not be enough within a few years & turn into an elevated parking lot, given that exit options at Silkboard Jn & also at EC are weak, & cannot cope with large increases in traffic.
Metro rail would have been the ideal choice, but it seems too late now. The best option is to run a Metro on Bannerghatta rd & connect EC via NICE rd.
NICE road will be the saving grace
Elevated Road
Maytas connexion
Maytas was one of the three members of the consortim that was building this. I wonder what is going to happen to this project now.
This apart there are list of other projects including Bangalore Mysore highway maintenance, and atleast two new greenfield airports that were handed over to Maytas. Wonder what is going to happento them all.
BETL nearing completion
nah!
Infy Vs Satyam
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12903424&source=features_box3
Corruption at Siemens Vs Satyam
Infy:Satyam ISNE BLR: HYD
Right. But the distinction between Infy and Satyam does not extend to Bangalore and Hyderabad, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India and the West and so on ... Satyam is pipsqueak when compared to what the NYC and London and even Finland has done. Raju is a fraud just like Madoff, Telgi and scores others in history from all over the world. And that is the sum total of all that is there to it, beyond that is all in the gaaLi gopura hypothesis territory – stuff that gets the sociology types excited.
Only thing that matters now is how efficiently, transparently and comprehensively is this prosecuted now. Already AP sarkara is seen to be going soft on Raju. Obviously Raju is not alone and obviously the management is not alone. How did they come to acquire so much land in HYD? How many neta-gaaLLu go down with IT-vaaLLu is the real test.
No offence
But facts are fact. Perhaps due to peer pressure and societal pressure and absence of other manufacturing industries, nearly everyone in AP is forced to go into IT. This invariably gives room for a lot of fakes. And Satyam was very symbolic of this.
Satyam Fiasco