Closure of Pulakeshinagar railway underbridge causes traffic snarls

The closure of a railway underbridge in Fraser Town has been causing daily traffic snarls in the eastern Bengaluru neighbourhood, road users say. 

In early January, the South Western Railway (SWR) closed one of the three railway underbridges located in front of the Pulakeshinagar police station. The underbridge is being expanded to facilitate the laying of two additional railway tracks in the Bengaluru Cantonment-Whitefield section as part of a quadrupling project, according to officials. 

Additional tracks have already been laid on the two adjoining underbridges that were expanded several years ago. 

The closure of the third underbridge has resulted in severe traffic congestion during peak hours, especially for vehicles coming into the city centre from Banaswadi, Hennur and Lingarajapuram. Road users have to use the two adjoining underbridges that are too narrow and badly maintained to handle additional traffic. 

Ravi Chandra, a commuter, blamed poor traffic management for the heavy snarls and suggested that the underbridge was closed without prior notice or markers on the road. 

“I travel to work from my home in Banaswadi every day. I take Mosque Road now but the traffic jams are still bad,” he said. 

Chandra S Shetty, a roadside vendor near the underbridge, said traffic flow was high during peak hours but opined that the opening of the newly built Mosque Road railway overbridge had somewhat helped ease the traffic flow. 

Other road users said the Mosque Road overbridge — about 500 metres away — wasn’t of much help. They also highlighted the problem of bad roads and narrow underbridges. 

Renuka, who sells vegetables near the closed underbridge, lamented that her business had been affected by the traffic congestion and the no-parking rule. 

This apart, commuters travelling on Pottery Road continue to face traffic snarls at the railway underbridge that connects Haines Road with Tannery Road. 

The inspector of the Pulakeshinagar Traffic Police Station said congestion was the most severe during the beginning of the month but things had somewhat improved because of the opening of the ITC flyover and the Mosque Road overbridge. 

“Traffic police personnel have been deployed in specific areas, including near the underbridge, the Pottery Road junction and the Mosque Road overbridge to regulate the vehicular movement,” he told DH. “However, the situation remains tight during peak hours.” 

A railway official in the know of things said the expansion of the third underbridge was going on at a brisk pace and would be completed by March-end. Until then, road users will face inconvenience, he added. 

The closure of the third underbridge has resulted in severe traffic congestion during peak hours. DH PHOTO/B K Janardhan

Cut-off box - Project to concretise roads
After expansion the underbridge will become four metres wide and four metres high and the road will be concretised. The approach roads will be asphalted a railway engineer said. 
“It’ll be an arch-type structure and traffic will likely be allowed one-way” he added. 
The railways will also start the work to expand the underbridge at the Tannery Road junction. The necessary approvals have been obtained from the BBMP the official said.