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BIAL Connectivity Updates December 2007

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Written By tsubba - 16 December, 2007

BIAL Bangalore Infrastructure public transport

Updates on the proposed high speed rail, the proposed expressway and improvements to existing NH7 to BIAL.

High Speed Rail To BIAL
Sridharan meets Governor
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Chief E Sreedharan made a presentation on the Detailed Project Report of the high speed rail link to Devanahalli to Governor  on Saturday, Dec 15, 2007.

The presentation included the need to float a Special Purpose Vehicle, the time schedule, and various other aspects of the Rs 3900 crore project.
The DMRC suggested that the project be taken up on a priority basis at the earliest to offer speedy connectivity to the Devanahalli airport. Sreedharan told Deccan Herald  that the governor was satisfied with the presentation. “The government has given a positive response. It is now for them to implement the project,” he added.  The governor is also keen to begin the project as early as possible. TOI reports that "the governor is said to have promised to take action in the next couple of days."

NH7 To BIAL
TNN Dec 14 & 15
 PWD
PWD has requested NHAI to gear up the NH 7 to take the airport traffic by constructing more underpasses, interchanges and ROBs.

Police
The police are looking at identifying civic agencies to construct underpasses throughout the stretch to the upcoming airport. Technically, it takes about 35 minutes to travel from Hebbal flyover to the Devanahalli airport intersection without traffic hindrances. On Friday, additional commissioner of police K C Ramamurthy and his team visited the route to figure out where traffic signals are needed. The police have also identified sectors which need to be barricaded for pedestrian safety and smooth flow of traffic.

Palike
Meanwhile the palike is tackling the North Corridor, from Minsk Square to Hebbal Flyover. Seven junctions-Windsor Manor Bridge, BDA junction, Cauvery junction, CBI junction, Sanjaynagar junction apart from Maharani's College and KR Circle will be signal-free by March.

BBMP commissioner S Subramanya said that work will begin on December 15 and a traffic plan is being prepared so that traffic will be least affected. "We are working day and night to make service roads so that traffic can be divided. Only near Balabroohi, since the road has to be completely excavated due to a dense network of water lines, the traffic will be diverted. But we will not close the road at any point of time and by March the stretch between Bala Broohi to Hebbal Flyover will be completely signal-free," he said.

Here is the plan for the junctions along the Hebbal Main Road:
   Windsor Manor Bridge: The BBMP will widen the existing road into a six-lane road with land that has already been taken over from the golf club. Two pre-cast elements will be placed in the middle of the circle to allow vehicles to take a right turn towards Hotel Ashoka, and those coming from Anugraha to come onto to Hebbal Main Road and take a left or right turn. As the lanes will be increased, options to get into Windsor Manor and change lanes to move towards Hebbal or the city are being made. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 1 crore. It will take seven days to complete it.

BDA Junction: Though this is a relatively simpler plan, two long up and down ramps will be made on the Hebbal Main Road. Two box underpasses will allow vehicles to move from Banglore Palace towards Malleswaram, and those coming from Cauvery junction to take a right turn towards Malleshwaram. As the ramps will need embankments, it is estimated that this project will take more time. The cost is estimated at Rs 2.5 crore and will take approximately 45 days to complete.

Cauvery Junction: At this junction, vehicles moving towards Hebbal will have to take a left turn towards Bhashyam Circle and then take a 'U' turn after moving 50 meters to join the Hebbal Road. A box will be introduced to take a 'U' turn and another one at the junction, will allow vehicles from Bhashyam Circle to join Hebbal Road and move towards the city.

CBI Junction & Sanjaynagar Junction: At both these junctions, underpasses will be erected at the middle of the road below the surface level.
Expressway To BIAL
The 21.2 km expressway which went through random re-alignments before the alignment was arbitrarily frozen has raised a lot of shackles amongst the people. ToI Dec 14th 2007 quotes a senior PWD official: "The Rs 1,000 crore project is finally taking shape. We have finalised the route and issued a preliminary notification. We are finalising the consultants and after that, the tendering process will begin. We are hopeful that the project should be completed over 20 months".

According to ToI, the PWD has also written to the centre for availing viability gap funding for acquiring land for the project but is yet to get any reply.  Putting apprehensions to rest over the very formation of the expressway the government has notified the project, which entails a 21.2 km six-lane tolled road. After a year of conceiving the project, the government through a special gazette dated August 8, notified the project and the boundary for the entire alignment. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation, which is the project implementing authority, has called for a global tender to construct the tolled road on a BOT basis.

However another ToI report says:  A decision to hand over the project to the National Highways Authority of India to speed it up was taken by BMRDA, PWD and BBMP officials at a review meeting on Friday. The state government will send a request to the Union government to fund the project entirely by entrusting it to NHAI. Earlier, the Union government was asked to fund for the project in the form of viability gap funding. “Objections to the alignment have been invited. A major objection filed by property owners is to denotify their properties. Public properties have to be acquired for the project. The applications are being scrutinised,” officials told The Times of India. Another request to the Centre will be to develop one of the ring roads — STRR, IRR, PRR and to realign, develop NH 207 to connect Bantwal in Mangalore to Tamil Nadu via Kolar which would act as an East-West corridor of the state.

COMMENTS

airport

tsubba - 18 December, 2007 - 05:06

i think it is still early days. all previous reports mention hebbal and yelahanka stops apart from mg road stop. i think the last meeting with sreedharan was mainly about how to fund this. lets wait till DH and Hindu catch up on this. an old article about metro that has some info about this rail to airport.

What other options were considered?

s_yajaman - 18 December, 2007 - 04:16

Read the ToI (I should change my newspaper quickly). As usual there was a headline - BIAL in 15 minutes or some such nonsense. The price tag - Rs.4000 crores - US$ 1 BILLION!!! Understandably commuters to the airport should not have to suffer to get there. But was this the only option considered? Was any option laid out that gave say a one hour ride from Kengeri in the west and Whitefield in the east at say a cost of Rs.1000 crores. This could have been done by augmenting the current network of surface lines and electrifying them - in fact the report said that land acquisition was not needed as it would run parallel to the existing line. Maybe possible, maybe not. But we never seem to know and TOI never seems to ask. Given that in the next few years about 50000 people will fly in and out (25000 in either way), a once in 30 mins service to/from Kengeri and Whitefield with a 500 capacity rake could have done the trick. Even a 45 min journey for a 35 km journey should be fair. It would have also benefited more people and crowded MG Road less. The remaining money could have been used to extend the Metro to ITPL or ECity. Why do we need a train that averages 120 kmph? Srivathsa

options

tsubba - 18 December, 2007 - 04:37

sri can i cut and paste your post to the other thread? I didnot make the 4000 cr 1 bill$ connection. wow!! But i guess the cost for this 30 km line matches with cost for 33 kms of the metro. naveen explained that there are differences in the train itself. but do you know if this is other wise metro compatible? can metro trains use these tracks? I am hoping SG but how about the rest of it power and the rest? we had discussed how multiple sources/sinks within the city were needed. like byappanahalli, yeshwantpur, majestic and prolly mg road. the thing is they insist on having remote checkin terminals and all. we will ultimately have to see what it means to MG road congestion. cant imagine it handling more than it already is doing. hope they have some

why did they miss this?..

blrsri - 18 December, 2007 - 05:06

Speculators/Airbus/Jewellers.. etc are some of the people who are already planning shops around BIAL. And then we have Yelahanka/Sahakarnagar/Hebbal already in place. These people will need a metro type/affordable connectivity! Why are Sreedharan's not looking at this??!!..and why the exclusivity for the train..? Best would be to provide a few more stops on the way..we dont need a 15 min ride..we need a problem solving ride..30 min maybe..and on SG.. Can praja do something about this before they start putting up the piers!!?

Buslane To Airport

tsubba - 20 December, 2007 - 01:37

Dedicated Bus Lane For New Airport ToI Bangalore's first dedicated bus lane will be laid to exclusively ferry airport passengers and the BMTC is deploying 40 A/C buses for this purpose. The dedicated bus lane is meant to ensure quick travel time on brand-new low-fare Volvos and also to avoid breakdowns. The bus lane will be marked by two yellow lines using thermoplastic paint, and the lane will be marked: 'For Buses Only'. The police will man the lane for a while to ensure only buses drive on it. Barriers will also be put up at regular points along the lane. Lane marking will begin in January and trial runs will begin towards January-end and February. The plan is to ready the lane before the airport is inaugurated in March. The BMTC and transport department received the go-ahead to execute the project following the submission of a comprehensive report on the lane system by traffic expert M N Sreehari. The plan is to cover the distance between Hebbal flyover and airport in 25 minutes. Initially, there were no provisions to install bus stops along the way, but owing to good passenger flow, bus stops have been tentatively planned for every 2 km. The distance between bus stops will be worked out later. Sreehari has suggested that the Hebbal BMTC depot can double up as the departure hub. Passengers coming in from the Outer Ring Road, Vijaynagar and Koramangala must go to the Hebbal depot to board buses. Passengers from Bangalore East and South-East can proceed to the airport without a detour as a direct road is being built. ------------------ Road Improvements Two roads to be ready by April The BBMP is optimistic about completing work on widening of two roads - Bellary and Race Course Road during March and April. They’ve been taken up on a priority basis as these two roads connect the new international airport and the proposed expressway. Around 90% of work has been completed on Race Course Road. Building of compounds has been completed on either side. Utility ducts have been laid. This widened road would be opened in March. About 70% of work has been completed on Bellary Road. Work on creating bus bays, erecting compound walls and laying utility ducts have been completed. In order to expedite the work, shifting of utilities is being done quickly. This stretch of road would be ready from April.

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