Loop that helps vehicles reach Silk Board from Bannerghatta Road to go first

The demolition of the Jayadeva flyover will be taken up in a phased manner from the end of May by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). A loop of the flyover that helps traffic coming from Bannerghatta Road to reach the Central Silk Board will be demolished first.

BMRCL officials said demolition of the main lanes of the flyover will be taken thereafter. It would take two to three months to demolish the entire 12 year old structure.

The BMRCL had earlier set the end of March or the first week of April as the deadline to begin the demolition work, but it was not taken up owing to various reasons.

A BMRCL official said to minimise inconvenience to motorists, initial works of pier construction of Reach 5 and Reach 6 lines near the junction will be completed prior to taking up the work. In addition, the BMRCL is also waiting for over 300 construction workers to return from their native places, as a majority are from northern or north-eastern parts of the country and they had taken leave to vote.

“To minimise inconvenience to motorists, the flyover demolition will be taken up in a phased manner. The loop that will be demolished first is a length of almost 150 meters. We have already chalked out plans with the local traffic police on traffic diversion,” said an official.

The MICO Layout Traffic Police have already introduced traffic diversion on the service road for the traffic moving towards Gurappanapalya.

“A Delhi-based agency will take up the demolition work. They will use advanced crunchers to demolish the structure. Such large crunching machines will probably be used in the city for the first time to demolish a concrete structure like a flyover,” added the official.

Traffic movement is likely to be affected in the area, with people travelling towards Silk Board and residential areas located nearby being hit the most.

Prajwal, a motorist using the junction to reach Silk Board, said, “The ongoing metro work is causing a too much inconvenience for motorists. It is hard to imagine the condition of motorists when BMRCL begins the demolition work and diverts traffic. The construction will take years and motorists will definitely suffer.”

As per the proposal of the BMRCL, the present junction will be remodelled to accommodate an elevated road and interchange metro station of Reach 5 metro line from R.V. Road to Bommasandra and Reach 6 from Gottigere to Nagawara.

There will be six levels of infrastructure at the junction. The first level will be an underpass road from Bannerghatta Road towards Dairy Circle. On level two, there will be a road from Ragigudda towards Silk Board, and in the same direction an elevated road also will be built at the third level.

On the fourth level, a metro concourse will be provided for Reach 5 and Reach 6 metro lines. Level five will have a metro line from R.V. Road to Bommasandra, while the last level is Reach 6 from Gottigere to Nagawara Line.

The BMRCL has already acquired 18 properties at the junction for building the metro station and elevated corridor. It has taken possession of 5,080.77 square meters that include 820 sq.m of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. The properties include residential and commercial buildings. The BMRCL has set September 2020 as the deadline to complete the work.