Bengaluru: Unexpected road work halts traffic near Dairy Circle, key roads nearby

BENGALURU: It was a horrendous start to the week for thousands of motorists who were caught in a massive gridlock near Dairy Circle Flyover on Monday morning after police, without warning, barred vehicles from entering the upper ramp toward Madiwala Check Post to allow BBMP to resume whitetopping work on MH Marigowda Road.
Soon after police placed barricades on both ends of the flyover’s ramps at 7am, vehicles began to stack up.An hour later, instead of freeflowing traffic, there was angry honking as several hundred vehicles, standing bumper to bumper, came to a complete halt. Realising that they had created a situation that was out of their control, police finally removed the barricades at 9.30am.

By then, however, they had wreaked enough havoc to ensure that traffic returned to normal only after 11am. The day’s schedule of thousands of people heading to their workplaces, students on their way to colleges and schools and other road users had been ruined.
Police officers later stated that they had closed the road to “test traffic flow”.
“Our plan was to close the road on Sunday, but BBMP officials did not turn up on the weekend,” a senior traffic police officer said. “On Monday morning, we were busy with the nomination process for the bypolls, when BBMP officials called us and asked for the flyover to be barricaded.”
“After the chaos on Monday morning, BBMP officials told us that they would put on hold the whitetopping work for at least a week,” he said. “During the coming week, we will work out alternative routes.”
After closing the flyover, police diverted motorists heading toward Hosur Road to Adugodi junction, Forum Mall and the Madiwala Check Post. Stuck in the jam, some motorists vented their frustration on Twitter, posting pictures of the massive jam.
Rajesh Kumar, a software professional, said he was stuck at Adugodi for more than an hour. “Traffic was moving inch by inch between 8am and 9am,” he said. “I could see students looking worried in their school buses. It’s the same story every time BBMP takes up road projects. There’s absolutely no foresight.”
A traffic police officer in the area said the roads had to be widened.
“How long can these roads hold an increasing number of vehicles? Not more than five years,” he said. “Widening of roads is the only solution. But for that the government will have to demolish buildings, people will go to court and the work will stall.”