reflectors

signages

Outer Ring Road

twin-flyovers

Devarabeesanahalli flyover

During our recent survey, we found that only 20% of the street lights were working between Marathahalli and Agara junction. Even the entry and exit points of underpasses and flyovers are poorly lit, making it vulnerable to accidents ­–Nithin Mallukarjun, daily commuter on ORR

BRTS

Traffic came to halt on January 7 when a truck hit a median on Devarabeesanahalli flyover

At the entry point of all split-flyovers, the medians are not clearly visible due to a design flaw. The lack ofandare resulting in accidentsWhen the spilt-flyovers were built just a decade ago, driving on the(ORR) was scary as the stretch was pitch dark and there were hardly any vehicles after sunset. Now, the busy ORR has become a centre of twin problems. While motorists dread to drive on the ORR in peak hours due to traffic jams, the stretch is seeing an increase in the number of accidents at the entry ofafter dark.The point to note is the entry of all split-flyovers such as Agara, Bellandur, Devarabisanahalli, Doddanekundi, Mahadevapura, Nagawara etc. As two separate flyovers are built at these junctions, motorists who are using the extreme right lane at grade, are not likely to notice the median that’s built right in the middle of the carriageway. One of the reasons: lack of reflectors and signages.As recent as Friday, a truck rammed into the median on the. Similar accidents of hitting the median have taken place at different flyovers on the ORR.The local residents, while blaming the ill-designed flyover that is not aligned with the at-grade lanes, have pointed to the lack of visible signages, inadequate reflectors, lane marking and poorly-lit roads as reasons for the increase in the number of accidents. While the residents agree that the design of the flyover is too late to change, they want the authorities to work on solutions that are implementable.While the grade-separators are built, keeping in mind the alignment of the road, the flyovers on the ORR are designed differently to make way for the bus rapid transport system (), which never materialised.Nithin Mallukarjun, who uses the ORR stretch almost daily, blamed the lack of visibility and warning signages for the accidents. “During our recent survey, we found that only 20% of the street lights were working between Marathahalli and Agara junction. Even the entry and exit points of underpasses and flyovers are poorly lit, making it vulnerable to accidents,” he said.“I feel scared to drive after 7pm. While the design of spilt-flyovers cannot be changed, what the authorities could do is provide adequate lighting and install signages that warn the motorists well in advance. If these measures are not taken up on one of the major roads of Bengaluru, just imagine the state of the interior roads,” Mallikarjun wondered.Clement Jayakumar, a resident of Doddanekundi said the ORR is witnessing numerous accidents, most of which occur at the same spot. “The primary reason is the way spilt-flyovers have been designed. Most of the accidents take place at night and early in the morning as it’s difficult to notice the median of the split-flyover. The BBMP, time and again, has ignored the suggestions given by residents,” he said.A senior BBMP official said they are in the process of installing reflectors and signages on the ORR stretch. “We are aware of the problem. In the past, we had installed reflectors on the median but they don’t last long, especially after each accident. We will install new materials in 15 days,” he said.The traffic police, however, blamed the drivers for not being attentive while driving. “The truck driver (Friday’s accident at Devarabisanahalli) rammed into the median as he was drunk,” a senior IPS officer, in-charge of the east division, said. He said the flyovers are not the cause of accidents and added that motorists must drive carefully.JM Chandra Kishen, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, said, “As the flyovers are already constructed, the only way to reduce accidents is to install proper signboards, using the standard font size, colour and height. They should be well-lit. We are used to building flyovers, using the best fit technique, based on the land available. That does not work in the long run as such flyovers will have many disadvantages. Ideally, a flyover should be aligned to the road. It cannot have a skewed alignment. The sight distance should also be taken into consideration.”