Bengaluru: It took an eight-year-old boy’s initiative to reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put the project on fast track. And now after a delay of around four years, the Road Over Bridge (ROB) connecting Muthyalanagar and
Tumakuru Road, has finally been thrown open for public use, much to the relief of commuters on the Outer Ring Road.
A portion of the ROB running above the Jalahalli Crossing will be ready in a week, according to BDA sources.
City school boy, S Abhinav had complained to Mr Modi about the problems students had on this stretch during peak hours and appealed to him to speed up the project that was entangled in land acquisition problems. Later a dialogue was arranged between the defence authorities, the BDA and the railways to resolve the issues holding up the project and allow it to get underway.
Delighted to have the project finally ready, Abhinav, when informed about it, thanked Mr Modi for hearing his plea. “I am happy that school buses will now be able to reach schools on time. Hopefully in a day or two our bus too will use the ROB. The traffic congestion has reduced considerably. But the other portion of the bridge should be completed soon too,” he said.
Built on cost sharing basis by the BDA and the Indian Railways, the bridge cost Rs 28.35 crore to build. The BDA has paid Rs 11.50 crore towards land acquisition and Rs 15.12 crore for construction, according to sources.
It is now expected to work on providing an underpass between Kanteerava Studio and the BEL junction to further ease traffic on the busy Tumakuru road.
