KRDCL told to asphalt Varthur Road before flyover works amid civic backlash 

After backlash over the poor infrastructure on State Highway-35, the government has directed the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) to at least asphalt Varthur Road on priority to make it motorable.

The 9-km stretch between Varthur Kodi and Sarjapur Road came under the scanner after school buses travelling on the feeder roads to this stretch were stuck for over two hours last week.

A Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) source confirmed to The Hindu that the KRDCL has been ordered to asphalt the road, as the stretch is still under the KRDCL’s maintenance, while it falls under the jurisdiction of the Bengaluru East City Corporation.

“The KRDCL is likely to start asphalting the stretch next week. During the meeting, the KRDCL raised the issue of an aggregate shortage due to limited supply to Bengaluru, and the same problem persists across the city,” he said.

Aggregate shortage

The Tamil Nadu government imposed restrictions on the transportation of rough stones and aggregates to other States in July. This meant that nearly 1,000 lorries carrying aggregates stopped entering the city, GBA sources said. Further, the Karnataka State Stone Mines and Crushers Federation called a strike, aggravating the situation and leading to a slowdown of infrastructure works in the city.

Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar, Additional Commissioner, Bengaluru East City Corporation, told The Hindu that the strike had been called off, so contractors would now be able to source aggregates and start work on a priority basis.

Though another GBA source said that irrespective of the strike’s impact, the KRDCL had been directed to order the contractor to ensure that the work starts at the earliest, even if that means transporting aggregates from longer distances.

Extra work

For the KRDCL, this will be an addition to its work, as the initial project was to build an elevated corridor and then take up widening and asphalting of the SH-35 stretch.

Now, the corporation has been ordered to take up the asphalting of the stretch even before building the flyover and widening the road. “If the stretch’s condition is affected during the widening works, which will be taken up at a later stage, the corporation may also take up repair works. However, the condition of the stretch is terrible, and immediate asphalting is required,” said a GBA officer.

Miserable interior roads

Karthik Rao, a resident of Gunjur, said that while asphalting SH-35 was an immediate need, the traffic in the area was also disrupted due to bad interior roads.

“If connecting roads aren’t fixed, there won’t be a substantial change in congestion in the area. The corporation has to review the issue scientifically because the population in the area is also spread across the interiors, where many apartment complexes are located,” he said.

Mr. Sudhakar said that the Bengaluru East City Corporation has also planned the white-topping and asphalting of major connecting roads such as Panathur and Gunjur roads, scheduled to be taken up in the next few months.

Another officer said the Bengaluru East City Corporation would also hold a meeting with the Bengaluru Traffic Police after the KRDCL completes asphalting to impose restrictions on heavy vehicles during peak hours and strategically deploy officers to manage traffic on the ground.