Bengaluru: It is a shortcut that not many are aware of, but it could also be a shortcut to disaster.Tucked away in Benniganahalli, this small underpass is used by commuters coming from Outer Ring Road, Ramamurthy Nagar, Kasturi Nagar to avoid getting stuck in the mega traffic jams that begins at Kasturi Nagar and ends at Tin Factory. The short boxlike structure with sharp bends and little overhead clearance is the quick getaway route for many, but can also be a trap during inclement weather.
The underpass, if it can be called so, opens up at the intersection of the 2nd Main Road of Kasturi Nagar and the service road running parallel to the Outer Ring Road. From thereon, the main road turns right to become the Railway Parallel Road.
But before you go further, you see a turn to the right. Take that turn, watch out for the steel bar put up to prevent entry of heavy vehicles and you see the underpass. It dips down, and after a few metres, turns sharply to the right. You have to be careful not to crash into oncoming vehicles from the other side.
“When I return from work to home in Pai layout, I find it convenient. But the oncoming vehicles could be scary," said Divya Reddy, who uses the underpass daily. Go a little bit further and you turn right again, and emerge out of the tunnel. Then you turn left and a hundred feet away is the Swami Vivekananda Road.
This is the shortest route from Kasturi Nagar to Pai Layout. The other option is to go all the way along the Railway Parallel Road, around Baiyappanahalli Metro station, and get on to the Swami Vivekananda Road and drive all the way past RMZ Infinity and turn right under the flyover.
But if you are using this underpass, even after reaching Swami Vivekananda Road, you are still not out of the woods. You have to carefully merge with the traffic coming from two major underpasses – one that takes you towards Tin Factory, and the other which curves right on to the flyover towards Hebbal.
The tucked away underpass has another major problem. There are no mirrors to show the oncoming traffic. There was one mirror, but it mysteriously disappeared. Secondly, when it rains, the underpass gets flooded and unusable. Like many ideas, the underpass has proved to be useful to motorists, but better planning and execution could have made commuters lives easier.
