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Allalsandra railway overbridge to ease commuters' woes by Jitendar on 25 September, 2013 - 11:57 AM
avatar Jitendar Allalsandra railway overbridge to ease commuters' woes on 25 September, 2013 - 11:57 AM

BANGALORE: After The Times of India brought to light how trains are manually stopped at the Allalsandra level crossing to allow vehicles to cross the tracks, work on constructing a railway overbridge (ROB) has begun. The road that leads to Yelahanka has been partially closed for over a month now, and soil testing is over.

Minister Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted this problem in his 100-day report card on the railways and wanted the project to be speeded up.

A temporary subway is being constructed 500-odd metres ahead of the same junction that leads traffic through Judicial Layout. This will allow vehicles to go towards Yelahanka. South Western Railway (SWR) authorities told TOI that the ROB will be ready only in a year's time-tentatively by September 2014.

"If city traffic police deems it fit to keep the temporary roads open for public use even after the ROB is ready, it can do so. Otherwise, the roads will be closed It all depends on the public pressure whether they want to use the subway also or not," said an official. The cost of this bridge alone is Rs 5-6 crore.

The overbridge work was stalled for over six months due to paperwork delay. The ROB construction has to be done in tandem with line-doubling work that is taken up by the railway division, Bangalore. The railway board had sought several clarifications on this matter.

But this one bridge won't end the woes of Bangaloreans risking their lives to cross railway tracks. But this isn't the only railway bridge which has to end the turmoil of Bangaloreans to cross the deadly tracks.

Some 22 ROBs/RUBs await construction around the Outer Ring Road and major streches on a cost-sharing basis between the SWR and BBMP. But a cash-starved Palike hasn't prioritized these projects.

Kharge has directed the BBMP commissioner to expedite these projects too. BBMP chief M Lakshminarayana has agreed to release Rs18 crore from the civic agency's kitty as a first installment. But BBMP needs to shell out around Rs 84 crore overall. The remaining 50% will be borne by the Railways.