BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated 118 km long Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway on Sunday, which has been built at a total cost of around Rs 8,480 crore. The expressway will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from around three hours to about 75 minutes.
But accidents on the highway are increasing for various reasons and, on the day of the inauguration itself, an SUV had overturned after hitting the road median. Traffic experts have suggested that a Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) on the outskirts of the city is essential for smooth flow of traffic on the expressway as well as in the city.
Traffic expert Srihari noted, “When a driver using the expressway approaches Bengaluru, he cannot expect traffic to be free like on the highway. The expressway has made it faster for travellers to reach Bengaluru. Earlier, it took at least three hours, but now it is possible to reach the city in one hour. People coming at high speed on the expressway are getting gridlocked near Kengeri junction and road users are facing traffic congestion. The saved time in traveling to Bengaluru is wasted in the traffic. Hence, a Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) is required for smooth flow of traffic”.
“Other traffic experts have warned the authorities concerned to put up information boards and signboards near the U-turns to reduce the rate of accidents on the expressway. Otherwise, it will create more problems and vehicles negotiating curves are not visible from afar. There is need to be create awareness about speed and road safety among vehicle users”, Srihari added.
“Once the PRR near KR Sandra is completed, travellers heading towards Tumakuru need not to enter Bengaluru city and traffic can be segregated. All the survey work has been completed. The traffic problem between Tumkuru Road, International Airport Road and Chennai will be solved”, he added.
“The traffic police should not give space to approach the expressway through the service road. Some street vendors have already set up shop. Hence, police should place barricades wherever necessary. Patrol vehicles should monitor the highway at regular intervals to ensure road safety”, Srihari suggested.