The nearly 17-km stretch on the Outer Ring Road between the Central Silk Board and KR Puram, where Metro work is gaining momentum, is proving to be a nightmare for motorists. Despite holding meetings on ways to reduce traffic disruption, officials are yet to decide on the road’s maintenance responsibility.
Especially on the flyover, the potholes and mud accumulated on the road are a danger to the drivers and cyclists. Poor maintenance of pavement is a matter of concern for pedestrians. A year ago, the ORR was lauded for introducing priority lanes to the bus, but the boulders on some stretches have either been damaged or removed.
“I travel from Hebbal to ORR every day. The road is fine until we cross Lowry School; After that there are a lot of craters. With the recent heavy rains, the road condition has worsened,” said Prateek R, a motorist. If that’s not bad enough, Metro work has made matters worse. “The roads have become narrow at many points where work is going on. The authorities should take measures to ensure that the roads on the entire stretch are maintained regularly,” he said.
Another motorist Ravikumar said, “Like many other roads in the city, the authorities also neglected this section. More and more people have started returning to the office, and the number is likely to increase in the coming months. Failure to fill potholes and clean mud accumulated on the road is a danger. ,
A few days ago, the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), which represents companies located on the stretch, in a tweet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other elected representatives, highlighted their problems.
“As you focus on rebuilding our economy, the Bengaluru Outer Ring Road, with 8.5 lakh employees that contributes significantly to India’s GDP, is looking forward to welcoming our people to the office. However, ORR The infrastructure situation does not reflect the nation’s focus on investment in infrastructure to attract FX and become a 5 trillion economy,” the tweet said. The message was posted on social media in the wake of the Prime Minister’s visit to the city , which has since been postponed.
comprehensive plan
The ORRCA wants the civic authorities to come out with a comprehensive plan to develop the ORR and the roads that connect it to the residential layout, the newly added villages to the BBMP and others.
A BMRCL official said, “We are in touch with BBMP for the maintenance of the road. Metro work is going on in the middle of the road, we are not touching the service road except for the construction of metro stations. In the coming days, we will decide what we have to do and what will be the role of BBMP.”
However, when contacted, Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BS Prahlad Chief Engineer (Road Infrastructure) said: “BMRCL which is implementing the Metro project will do the maintenance work, such as pothole repairs, rebuilding, Boulder replacement and others. Discussion continues. We will soon sign an agreement with BMRCL on road maintenance.
BMRCL will maintain the main carriageway till the metro work is completed, while the civic body will maintain the service road and walkway.
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