Ground report: Additional loop to Hebbal Flyover cuts down travel time, but new bottlenecks likely to emerge

A day after it was inaugurated, The Hindu did a reality check on Tuesday to see if the additional loop to Hebbal Flyover from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) side has eased travel. While it has separated traffic from ORR and Airport Road that was earlier merging on the narrow two lanes on Hebbal Flyover into separate lanes, there are still some bottlenecks and some more that are likely to come up when the project is completed as all vehicles will converge at one point.

Earlier, traffic from two lanes of the ORR loop and two lanes of the Airport Road loop used to merge on two lanes over the flyover, creating a bottleneck, to resolve which the traffic police had been operating a manual signal on the flyover. Now, traffic from the four lanes go forward on four lanes, resolving this bottleneck.

Regular commuters and traffic police manning the junction reported a cut in travel times both from ORR and Airport Road loops on Monday and Tuesdayduring peak hours.

Suhas R., who works at Manyata Tech Park and takes the Hebbal flyover everyday, said that the new loop had saved him at least 10-15 minutes. “During evening peak hours on Monday and Tuesday, not that there was no traffic, but it was moving. Earlier, traffic police used to operate a manual signal on the flyover, which used to bring traffic to a standstill. Now that is not the case,” he said.

Sridhar G.S., a resident of Jakkur, who takes the flyover from the Airport Road side to work every day, said on Tuesday morning during peak hours, he crossed the flyover in just 10 minutes, which he said was “unbelievable”. He said he used to be stuck for more than 20 minutes on the flyover.

Pradeep B.U., Assistant Commissioner of Police (North East Subdivision), said the new loop has cut down travel time on the Hebbal Flyover, and the addition of another loop from the Airport Road side towards Mekhri Circle will further help ease congestion.

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced on Monday that the second loop will be completed by December 2025.

New bottlenecks to likely emerge

However, new bottlenecks seem to be emerging in the region. “There is significant congestion at Mekhri Circle due to the narrow service road, which we have flagged. The civic body has already begun work to widen the road there, acquiring defence land,” Mr. Pradeep said.

“National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also taken up road widening after the down ramp of the flyover from the city towards the airport, which was supposed to be completed by August 15, but is not yet over. Its timely completion will help ease the bottleneck at the other end as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, the bus stop near Baptist Hospital at the down ramp of the Hebbal flyover is causing some chaos in traffic flow and slowing it down. Earlier, all traffic used to come on two lanes, and buses would take a slight left and stop at the bus stop. However, now the down ramp of the new loop lands almost at the bus stop. While vehicles coming from the ORR loop take a slight right to join the Airport Road, buses coming from the Airport Road loop take a slight left towards the bus stop. This is leading to crisscrossing of traffic where the two loops of the flyover join the Airport Road.

“Small changes can streamline traffic at the junction. The Hebbal bus stop needs to be either shifted or a bus bay built to avoid the crisscrossing of traffic at the junction. Now with three loops to the flyover, it looks like a maze, and there is a need for proper signboards to ensure people are not getting into the wrong loop. We need a skywalk for people to cross the busy Airport Road,” said Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar, an urban mobility expert and resident of the area.

The new loop, being integrated with the loop of the flyover from the Tumakuru Road sidewill probably make it 6 lanes. If the new loop is integrated with the new ORR loop, again, the same problem of traffic from two arms merging on one will be recreated. Even if the loop is separated from the ORR loop, traffic from six lanes will land on the Airport Road which is 4 lanes wide, creating a bottleneck.