Bengaluru: After a long, five-year wait, Kodigehalli Railway Underpass has finally been opened for traffic and this will help the residents of Vidyaranpura, Sahakarnagar, Kodigehalli, Thindlu and Virupakshapura. But people complained that some finishing works were still going on and officials claimed that they would be completed soon.
The underpass was scheduled to be completed in 2015, but was delayed due to issues over acquisition of land and compensation for landowners.
Ms Anitha H., a homemaker, said, “Earlier, we had to take our 10-year-old son to school by crossing the railway tracks through the gates which was dangerous. I used to walk nearly half-a-km to leave him and return home. Now, we are really happy that the project has been completed and we can move about easily.”
The underbridge will cut travel time between Vidyaranyapura Main Road and Kodigehalli by at least 30 minutes. The 700-metre-long bridge was first proposed in 2013 by the BBMP under cost-sharing basis between the civic body and the Railways. Though it was estimated to be completed in two years, it was delayed.
“Around Rs 19 crore was spent on the project and there were a lot of hurdles in between. Finally, it is open. But the civic body is yet to acquire 30 metres of land. We anyway opened it because of pressure from the public,” a railway official told Deccan Chronicle.
