Bengaluru: Plans of turning the Central Silk Board junction into a signal-free intersection could take longer than expected. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation ( BMRCL ) had to cancel the tender for its proposed 2.84-km elevated corridor at the junction after just one construction company participated in the bid.This is the second time the tender for a signal-free road at the junction, arguably the busiest intersection in the city, has had to be cancelled. The first tender was cancelled after one of the two construction companies that participated in the bids failed in the technical round.While Metro engineers estimated the road flyover to cost ₹133.54 crore, the lone bidder — ITD Cementation India — quoted about 65% more than the estimate. ITD, which is already carrying out four Metro jobs in the city, had quoted ₹222.93 crore, it is learnt.On Wednesday, BMRCL’s website indicated that the tender is cancelled. It did not give any details.While floating the second bid, the transport utility had hoped that more than two companies would participate. Ajay Seth, managing director of BMRCL, did not respond to calls or text messages.With the second attempt failing, Namma Metro has lost nearly two years on this project. The state government had even released a scale model of the massive road-cum-rail flyover back in January 2017. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) had also offered to pitch in with funds.The signal-free corridor project, to be built along the Metro corridor from Ragigudda to Silk Board, was to be built in two-and-a-half years. This was expected to cut down travel time of motorists, who currently spend more than 20 minutes to cross the junction. The elevated road also offered direct access towards Electronic City, BTM Layout, Marathahalli and HSR Layout without having to wait at the traffic lights.A contractor who requested anonymity said that the project was huge in size and would require at least ?200 crore. “The BMRCL estimated the cost at less than ?150 crore, but that is not realistic. If the estimates were higher, more companies would have participated in the tender,” he said.Currently, Hindustan Construction Company and URC Construction are building the 6.34-km Metro Rail project between Central Silk Board and RV Road. The ?797-crore project is expected to be ready by 2022.