S Lalitha By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The feasibility report finalised for the Elevated Corridor Project looks at covering a distance of 102 km with six corridors — three main and three connecting ones. These details were finalised at a marathon meeting at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday in the presence of all the civic stakeholders. The report will be presented to the Chief Minister on Thursday for the final seal of approval.

The proposed elevated corridors along with the long-planned Peripheral Ring Road are proposed as the answers to decongest the city’s choked roads.

The elevated corridor is estimated to cost anywhere between `25,000 crore and `26,000 crore including land acquisition cost and is expected to be in place by 2025-2026. The Public Works Department (PWD) will implement it through the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL).

Speaking to The New Indian Express, K B Rathnakar Reddy, consultant for KRDCL which prepared the report, said, “As of now, one crore daily trips are undertaken in vehicles by the 1.2 crore population in the city. A trip refers to any distance travelled from one point to another by private vehicles or public transport. According to the BDA Master Plan 2031, the population will double by then. The number of trips undertaken by Bengalureans will then shoot up to two crore a day. It is absolutely vital to have this corridor in place by then so that public transport can run smoothly.”

Elaborating on the plan, Reddy said each of the corridors will have four lanes with two shoulders (additional space provided for two-wheelers to pass through, which can also be used as space for parking in case of breakdowns). The project was mooted a year ago.

“If approved, tenders can be called for next month. Work will begin in 2019 and we are suggesting a deadline of five to six years from then,” he said.Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd has also suggested having its future Metro lines at the second level while the road will be at the first level at two points.

It is being done presently for the R V Road-Bommasandra Line of Phase-II.