Bengaluru ORR overhaul: What urgent fixes are coming to ease traffic congestion?

Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Giri Nath directed immediate infrastructure upgrades in Bengaluru to alleviate traffic congestion, focusing on ORR.

Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Tushar Giri Nath, has instructed civic agencies to urgently carry out infrastructure upgrades across Bengaluru, with a special focus on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), in an effort to ease the city’s worsening traffic congestion.

Urban Development Dept. Addl. Chief Secretary Shri Tushar Giri Nath inspected Outer Ring Road from Silk Board to Hebbal along with senior officials. (X/@GBA_office)

According to an official release, Giri Nath on Thursday undertook a joint inspection along the ORR stretch from Silk Board Junction to Hebbal Junction, accompanied by senior officials from multiple departments, news agency PTI reported.

During the review, he directed them to take immediate and coordinated action to ensure smoother traffic movement across the busy corridor.

The instructions included repairing potholes without delay, resurfacing damaged stretches, improving traffic junctions, expediting white-topping projects, providing adequate drainage to avoid flooding, and maintaining stretches where Metro construction is underway. At Hosur Main Road near Shanthala Nagar, he called for the removal of barricades from completed sections of Metro work to allow vehicles to pass more easily.

Departments such as BMRCL, BWSSB, and BESCOM were reminded that they are responsible for restoring road surfaces once their work is completed. In case of potholes or surface damage, they must carry out the repairs themselves, and signage should be installed at such locations clearly naming the responsible department.

At Silk Board Junction, which is prone to heavy waterlogging during rains, officials were asked to undertake regular desilting of stormwater drains and prepare a comprehensive plan for the junction’s long-term upgrade. The release also noted that the long-delayed white-topping work on Agara Lake Road must be completed at an accelerated pace, with temporary repairs to be carried out immediately to improve the condition of the road.

Further directions included the construction of a skywalk at Iblur Junction to enhance pedestrian safety and measures to prevent waterlogging in the area. A feasibility study will also be conducted for the installation of a “magic box” underpass to ease vehicle movement at the junction.

Access ramps in ORR

Officials have also been asked to design 20 access ramps along the ORR to enable smooth transitions between service roads and the main carriageway. The initiative, once implemented, is expected to cut congestion by nearly 30 to 40 percent.

The inspection also covered other parts of the city. BBMP Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, who joined the inspection, personally documented the poor condition of Langford Road by taking photographs on his mobile phone and forwarding them to the concerned officials for urgent repairs.

At Agara Junction, where a damaged pipe on the flyover has been causing rainwater to spill onto the road below, officials were instructed to replace the pipe immediately. The lower section of the flyover, which has deteriorated, will undergo milling and patching using eco-fix material to fill potholes.

(With agency inputs)