KORAMANGALA INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE

760, 8TH Main Road 3rd Block, Koramangala Bangalore 560034. email: <sirsiagara gmail.com! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" #ri #omas$ek$ar %& '(g &0%3 )$ie* +ngineer ,Ma-or Roads. Br($a/ Bengal(r( Ma$anagara 0alike Bangalore #1B: 0ro2osed 3n/egra/ed 1nder2ass *rom 4or(m 5(nc/ion /o #ar-a2(r Road -(nc/ion on Hos(r Road 6 2o/en/iall7 serio(s 2ro8lems 9i/$ design and re:(es/ /o modi*7 /$e design /o an in/egra/ed *l7o;er 9i/$ on"o** ram2s.
Dear Sir We have gone through the initial set of drawings relating to the above project. Facilitating the smooth flow of through traffic by providing suitable designs is certainly a laudable objective. However, we feel that a number of parameters would need to be looked at while e amining the suitability or viability of a project in a given situation and we would like to place these factors before you for your consideration! 1. Does the design facilitate free movement in all directions "other than along the main carriageway#$ 2. Does it add to road capacity or reduce it$ 3. Does it make provision for local traffic and local users of the road$ 4. Does it make provision for bus stops, bus travelers and pedestrians$ 5. Does it cater for the future in terms of capacity building$ %ased on an analysis of re&uirement of the above parameters we have given our observations below on the proposed project on Hosur 'oad! GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON SUITABILITY OF THE UNDERPASS DESIGN 1. Hosur 'oad is a (ational Highway and it caters to various traffic movements while passing through %angalore. )hiefly these are *nterstate, including buses and light goods transport. +hrough +raffic from )ity,)%- area to commercial and business hubs on Hosur 'oad and Sarjapura 'oad. .oods vehicles to cater to commercial establishments from /arigowda 'oad 0 Hosur 'oad 1n. up to %ommasandra. 2ocal traffic starting or terminating Forum /all and all areas lying on either side of (H3 with F45' major crossing points,direction interchange points. +his stretch is a low lying area and has numerous un6 identified and un6 mapped underground utilities. 5nderpasses will re&uire huge collateral e penses and time for restoration of disrupted utilities catering to a very huge segment of dependent population. 2. 2ength! While the total underpass length of the proposed project is appro imately 788 metres, the major challenge is to find remedies for smooth flow all along Hosur 'oad, i.e. from 9ellara 1n. to Silk %oard 1n. +herefore the specific project for which we have

the drawings is only a part of the ultimate solution and cannot be treated in isolation. +here will be a huge potential problem in case the other areas of bottlenecks all along the stretch from 9ellarea 1n. to Forum /all are not taken up in a phased manner. :ny issues considered in isolation for underpass would be catastrophic in terms of impact on traffic and daily lives of people,not only in its immediate vicinity but will have an adverse impact all along Hosur 'oad on +W4 major a is 9ellara 1n. to Silk %oard 1n. /arigowda 'oad to Silk %oard 1n 3. Destruction of road capacity! *n any underpass, road capacity "e isting width# is destroyed not augmented. ;articularly with the present design calling for just < surface slabs at specific points, all along the rest of the carriageway, e isting '4W has to be distributed between the underpass carriageway, slip roads and footpaths. 4. 5nderground utilities! +he proposed underpass traverses through junctions which are full of underground power, water and sewage lines. /any of these are decades old. *t will be an e tremely difficult task to manage the movement of utilities seamlessly particularly when there are unlikely to be accurate maps showing the position of the e isting lines in the area. 5. 'isks of underpass flooding! We have seen in the recent past, the all too common instances of underpasses flooding due to drainage blocks and this in turn resulting in the underpass being closed to traffic. +he location of the proposed underpass on a major arterial route and (ational Highway would make any such occurance a major disaster. 6. ;otential for future ac&uisitions which will fuel costs later! *t is highly likely that given the sub6standard slip road widths planned, there will have to be land ac&uisition which will have to be done within a short period to broaden the slip roads. :t that point, the total costs of land ac&uisition will easily neutrali=e the apparent initial cost differential between underpasses and flyovers. :dd to this the huge dislocation and disruption which any ac&uisition of land inevitably entails. +he real costs of the underpass project are considerably more than what is being projected now. SPECIFIC ISSUES IN THE AREA RELATING TO THIS DESIGN: >. Slip 'oad width near Forum /all! ?ven in the present, there is heavy traffic congestion near the Forum /all entrance. +he slip road proposed in the drawing is just @.@ metres at the Forum /all entrance. +his width will severely restrict through traffic flow "for instance traffic coming from /arigowda road and turning towards Hosur 'oad and proceeding to :dugodi#. 2. Slip 'oad width near the )heckpost junction! *nterstate buses coming from the Aalasipalayam %us stand towards Hosur come from the /arigowda road and take a wide right turn on to Hosur 'oad. *n the present design, they will all have to use the @.@ metre width slip road to proceed. +he volume is so high, particularly in the evening hours, that congestion will definitely result. 3. ?ntry , ? it ramp at /arigowda 'oad junction! +raffic studies "including %%/;Bs own study# show /arigowda 'oad branch traffic is higher than traffic proceeding along Hosur road to,from :dugodi. +he present design caters only to the :dugodi traffic and does nothing for the much greater volume from /arigowda 'oad. *n any underpass design, ramps at intermediate points will be difficult to provide. 4. ? it ramp at Sarjapura 'oad! :gain with an integrated flyover, an e it ramp can be easily facilitated at Sarjapur 'oad junction. (o such solution is possible in case of an underpass. +his is particularly critical to facilitate access to vehicles "including ambulances# proceeding to St 1ohns Hospital on Sarjapur 'oad.

5. *nsufficient space for bus stops! +hanks to providing only < surface slabs "that too at junctions# and a slip road width of merely @.@ metres, there will be no stopping place at all along the entire length even at grade. (o bus stops can therefore be provided along this stretch which will be a huge hardship to bus users. 6. ;edestrian )rossing! %ecause most of the length is proposed to be open underpass, it will not be possible for pedestrians to cross over from one side to the other along most points. +here are many establishments on both sides of the road and a heavy pedestrian volume at present. 7. +he entire stretch of the proposed project actually runs through a fully developed residential cum commercial area, interspersed with a number of places of religious worship lying on either side of the main Hosur 'oad. +here is a huge pedestrian movement across and along the road. : single directional traffic management,solution can under no circumstances overlook the predominant right of local population to carry out their routine chores and conveniences. Solutions e ist which can eliminate the issues referred to above. We have already proposed one such solution, involving an integrated flyover with entry, e it ramps from Forum merging with the e isting silk board flyover. Some of the key points for discussion are as follows! 1. INTEGRATED FLYOVER INSTEAD OF UNDERPASS! : flyover will provide the following specific advantages! a. :dd capacity to the road instead of subtracting from it "only a portion of the at6 grade '4W around the central pillar will be lost# b. Facilitate greater use of at6grade space for bus traffic and pedestrian crossings "it is important to note that even a height of < metres is sufficient to have a pedestrian crossing under the flyover# c. :void serious potential flooding issues d. :void the problems of underground utility shifting RAMPS FOR EXIT AND ENTRY: Several ramps for entry and e it of vehicles are shown and provided in the concept plan drawing made available to you. +hese are not possible in an underpass design. CONSIDER INTERCHANGING THE DIRECTION OF MAIN CARRIAGEWAY With traffic studies showing that traffic coming from /arigowda road side is heavier than from the Hosur 'oad ":dugodi# direction, a persuasive case can be made for switching the direction of the main carriageway to /arigowda 'oad and having an entry ramp coming up from the Hosur 'oad, :dugodi side to merge with the carriageway at the )heckpost junction. *t is important to note that this will still keep the traffic going towards :dugodi signal free upto the forum junction as this will be signal free at grade at the )heckpost junction. 4ne could also look at an option of dropping the flyover from the Forum junction after the Sarjapur 'oad6Hosur 'oad intersection. +his would be possible however only if there is ade&uate space to start the ne t grade separator before the ne t junction and link it seamlessly to the Silk %oard junction. +o sum up on the advantages and disadvantages of the integrated underpass versus the integrated flyover project, we have appended a simple table.

&.

3.

S (o > C < 3 @. D. 7. E.

;arameter 'isk of flooding 5tility shifting 'oad capacity creation %us stops ;edestrian crossings 'amps and cross movement Slip 'oads 9ision

%%/; 5nderpass design ? ists ? tensive 'educes capacity Difficult to manage ;ossible only at slabs (ot possible )ramped and narrow Short +erm

*ntegrated Flyover )oncept (o possibility (ot re&uired *ncreases capacity (o problem ;ossible all along the carriageway ?asily possible ?ntire '4W less pillar width possible 2ong +erm and lasting

NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED APPROACH! We would like to draw your attention to the fact that this project is part of the Signal Free corridor from 9ellara to Silk %oard. +he success of this particular segment of the project will depend on robust plans being developed and implemented for the entire stretch. We would therefore re&uest you to help us with designs for the entire stretch from 9ellara to :dugodi and for the stretch from beyond the Sarjapur 'oad junction towards the Silk %oard flyover so that we can work together to develop a viable long term solution. *n the light of the fact that some hastily, poorly planned infrastructure projects in %angalore in the recent past have caused a great deal of inconvenience and avoidable e pense to the public, we would like to re&uest you to avoid the pitfalls in which were very obvious with some of the approaches and move forward on the lines of the proposal suggested by us. While providing 5nderpasses in specific situations "limited# is an effective tool as traffic enabling measure, but in situations where there are multiple issues involved, adding to road space is the only way forward. %angalore is amongst the fastest growing cities of :sia but with an infrastructure that is not keeping pace with the development needs, it is essential that a more far sighted plan is put on the ground, even if for reasons of financial constraints it is re&uired to be implemented in phases. +hanking you and looking forward to further interaction as and when re&uired. For Aoramangala *nfrastructure +ask Force

":uthori=ed Signatory#