The joy of those commuting on the stretch of Jayadeva flyover is always short lived. For, they invariably descend down to one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in south Bangalore.
In fact, one encounters a series of bottlenecks as one travels from Jayanagar towards BTM Layout. Some of these choke points include Aravind Circle near Jayanagar 5th block, both ends of Jayadeva flyover, Udupi Garden junction and the Silk Board junction.
There are bus-stops at the beginning and end of the flyover, which add to the congestion. Cars and two-wheelers parked near the bus-stops make the situation worse.
Daily commuters along the stretch say that while the ride is relatively easy post 11 a.m., the peak hours are extremely chaotic. Venkatesh, an autorickshaw driver who ferries passengers in and around East End Circle, said: “The morning hours up to 10.30 a.m. are the worst, as everyone is rushing.”
In addition, vehicles cutting into the main road through cross roads, without any monitoring, pose problems along the Inner Ring Road, including the junctions near Ragi Gudda. Many commuters who pass the Silk Board junction in the evening said their travel time is delayed by anywhere between 20 minutes to half an hour due to traffic pile-up.
N. Sundarnath, a resident of BTM 1st stage, said the pile-up starts as early as 5.30 p.m. near the Udupi Gardens junction after descending the flyover. “Apart from the peak hours in the morning, there is slow moving traffic on most evenings, especially near this junction,” he said. “Those travelling toward Bannerghatta Road easily pass through the underpass while the left and right lanes near the underpass get choked.”
The Madiwala Traffic Police said major traffic hurdles are witnessed from 7.30 p.m. till 10.30 p.m. “Many commute via this stretch because there are several IT/BT companies near Outer Ring Road. Those travelling from Banashankari to Hosur Road also have to pass through the Silk Board junction and along the Jayadeva flyover. The congestion is mainly caused by high density of cars. Though carpooling has been suggested, it has not been implemented successfully,” said a traffic police official in charge of the area.
A probable solution to this piling-up of traffic, suggested by police personnel, is widening of this stretch. “Certain roads have wide footpaths, but very less road width. In these stretches, road widening has to be undertaken. We have requested civic authorities to look into this,” said the jurisdictional traffic police officer.
However, a BBMP official said there was no plan to widen the roads as of now. However, a proposal regarding the same was made in 2010, but it has not taken off.
