Hebbal flyover’s new loop opens for trial run

The Hebbal flyover is expected to see smoother traffic flow as the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) opened a new loop for vehicular movement on a trial basis from Saturday night.

This comes after completion of construction work to ease congestion at one of the city’s busiest junctions. 

The project was initially expected to be completed by November 30, as directed by Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Though rains delayed the construction work, the BDA officials said the work was finished well before the extended January 1 deadline.

With this addition, the Hebbal Flyover now has dedicated routes for multiple traffic streams. Earlier, a separate loop for vehicles coming from the Nagawara side towards Mekhri Circle was inaugurated a few months ago by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The new loop is expected to significantly help commuters from northern areas such as Yelahanka, Jakkur, and Sahakara Nagar travel directly towards Mekhri Circle, while passengers returning from the airport are also likely to have a smoother journey.

While concerns were previously raised about possible bottlenecks near Mekhri Circle, especially towards Jayamahal Road, the officials, however, said the new loop was expected to reduce overall travel time.

The traffic police used to operate a manual signal on the flyover alternating between traffic from the Airport Expressway and traffic from Jakkur and Sahakar Nagar. Now with the additional loop separating traffic from these two sources into seperate lanes, this signal has been removed. This itself will cut down travel time on the flyover.