Stories
Bengaluru's Infrastructure Crisis: Urgent Action Needed for Sustainable Growth
- •Bengaluru faces an infrastructure crisis, not just a traffic problem, demanding immediate, long-term solutions, according to Dr. Krishna Reddy, former Secretary, PWD.
- •The city's population has nearly tripled in three decades, vehicle population exceeds one crore, and 10,000 new vehicles are registered monthly, overwhelming existing infrastructure.
- •Dr. Reddy emphasizes the need for an integrated mobility system, combining Metro, suburban rail, buses, and roads, rather than relying on a single solution.
- •Large-scale road widening is no longer feasible; Bengaluru requires new infrastructure like grade separators, flyovers, and tunnels to create continuous corridors.
- •Postponing infrastructure decisions will make solutions more expensive and difficult, necessitating a 20-30 year metropolitan infrastructure plan with immediate execution.
Key Questions Answered
Bengaluru's population has nearly tripled over the past thirty years, urban limits have expanded substantially, and the total vehicle population has surpassed one crore with regional RTOs registering about 10,000 new vehicles every month. This rapid radial expansion causes people to travel longer distances between outer residential areas and employment centers.
Large-scale road widening has become extremely difficult in built-up areas because buildings have come up densely across many parts of the city and there is insufficient land available at grade level. Planners must instead look above and below the existing network by building grade separators, flyovers, underpasses, and tunnels.
Plans and approvals had been prepared for two continuous long flyover corridors covering north-south and east-west movements with access ramps designed to bypass 12 to 15 signalised junctions. These corridors could potentially remove around 20% of existing traffic from affected routes.