Bengaluru’s Ejipura flyover work halted after concrete slab cracks and falls on auto

The incident occurred on the night of August 17, when chunks of concrete from a prefabricated segment of the Bengaluru flyover fell onto an auto parked below.

The much-delayed Ejipura flyover project in Bengaluru is once again in the spotlight, this time for all the wrong reasons.

Work on the 2.38-kilometre-long Ejipura flyover began in 2017 but has faced repeated delays. FILE PHOTO

A crack in a concrete slab of the under-construction structure has forced the civic body to halt work and seek an expert opinion from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), raising fresh concerns about construction quality and safety, The Hindu reported.

The incident occurred on the night of August 17, when chunks of concrete from a prefabricated segment of the elevated corridor fell onto an autorickshaw parked below. The vehicle was damaged, and the driver suffered minor injuries, sparking panic and renewed criticism of the project, the report further added.

Following the mishap, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has also asked the project’s designer to assess the situation and recommend the next course of action.

Work on the 2.38-kilometre-long Ejipura flyover began in 2017 but has faced repeated delays. After issues with the previous contractor, a new contractor was appointed.

The flyover has received another deadline extension, this time to March 2026. Initially launched in 2017 to ease one of the city’s worst traffic bottlenecks, the flyover’s construction has been marred by delays, contractor issues, and civic inefficiencies. The latest extension comes under the “Extension of Time” clause, with work having resumed in November 2023. The previous deadline was set for December 2025.

BBMP Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao has instructed engineers to take all necessary steps to avoid further delays and to ensure the project stays on track for the new 2026 deadline.

How did X users react?

Online, the project continues to be a source of ridicule. One user posted, “Cracks have already started appearing on the #EjipuraFlyover even before completion.”

Another joked, “Year 3050. Archaeologists find the Ejipura flyover remains and think it’s a marvel of ancient engineering, only to realise it was never finished!”

(With agency inputs)