Bengaluru gets 47th flyover

The Rs 34-cr project will help reduce traffic congestion on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road

The city has now got its 47th flyover. The elevated grade separator near Aroma Bakery junction in Yelahanka, is part of a series of flyovers to decongest the airport road, has been open to traffic. Despite the controversies surrounding over the name, the flyover is set to ease the traffic bottleneck near the Mother Diary circle near Yelahanka New Town.

The four-lane, 400-metre-long flyover has a width of 17 metres and has been constructed at a cost of Rs 34 crore. When the construction began in September 2017, many wondered if the flyover was needed, given the traffic-free area. However, once the construction began, many hoped for its speedy completion. Prateek Yadunandan, a law student said, “Earlier, I would wonder why we need a flyover. But, it has become a great relief now that it had been completed, with less dusty and easier to walk roads.”

BBMP officials said Mother Dairy Circle flyover is the first of the series of the flyovers constructed to ease the congestion on the Yeshwanthpur-Yelahanka road. The other flyovers are to come up at Gangamma Circle, MS Palya, Escort junction, NES junction, and Kempegowda Junction. These series of flyovers will ensure that all those heading from the west and northwest Bengaluru will have a hassle-free drive to the airport.

“Those heading to the airport, will no longer have to worry about getting stuck at any one of these junctions. It is really a good idea to have a signal-free junction. Earlier, the road from Gangamma Circle (junction of Tumkur and Yeshwanthpur roads) was a two-lane road. Later, with the airport shifting to Devanahalli, the road was widened to four-lanes. However, the traffic had now increased so much that many are stuck there. Hopefully, all these flyovers are open for use soon and the increasing traffic is accomadated,” said Raghuveer, an engineering student.

Controversies over the name

SR Vishwanath, a legislator under whose constituency the flyover falls, said that the project would be named after Veer Savarkar, who is also an ideologue of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is ruling the state government. The move, however, has attracted criticism from the Congress. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said naming the flyover after VD Savarkar would be an insult to the freedom fighters hailing from the state. He urged the state government to withdraw the decision and name the flyover after freedom fighters of the state.