Now, cobblestones to adorn Jayanagar and Hudson Circle

Cobblestone seems to be the new darling of civil engineers, of late. After laying cobblestones on the Church Street and Anand Rao Circle junction, the BBMP is now using the same at Shivarathreeshwara circle in Jayanagar 7th Block.

This five-legged junction is particularly chosen as it involves the movement of a lot of vehicles, and connects some important places such as Kanakapura Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Jayanagar 8th Block, Yediyur and Jayanagar 4th Block, said KT Nagaraj, chief engineer, road infrastructure (projects), BBMP.

“Laying cobblestones will help in smooth movement of traffic and pedestrians. This project also aims to increase the aesthetics of the junction,” said Praveen Lingaiah, traffic engineering cell, BBMP.

Residents apprehensive

On the other hand, some residents and motorists have expressed their concern over the durability of the work.

Akshay Naidu from Jayanagar 5th block said: “We have read reports of how cobblestones are coming out or loosening, just months after they were laid on the Church Street. The vehicle movement here is much higher. With the kind of work that the BBMP undertakes, it is important to know how long will this last.”

The work is going on mostly during the night, causing less hindrance to traffic movement during the day, said Lingaiah.

Similarly, another resident, Ramya K expressed her concern about waterlogging problems.

“We all have heard about how the stagnant water causes problems to the white-topping. The question is whether they will maintain and resolve such issues,” she said.

The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 40 lakh and, the work is expected to be complete in another 15 days, said Lingaiah.

The BBMP has taken a similar exercise at the Hudson Circle also.

Another official from the civic body said the BBMP was planning to lay cobblestone from Jayanagar 4th Block (Cool Joint signal) to JP Nagar 24th Main for a stretch of 25 kilometres. The cost of the project would be Rs 25 crore.