Commuters wait through multiple signal cycles at junctions along Old Madras Road

Amid delays in the junction improvement works at NGEF Signal and the failure of signal synchronisation, three key roads — Suranjandas Road, 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road — that feed traffic into Old Madras Road in east Bengaluru have emerged as major choke points, particularly at their junctions.

The increased traffic on these stretches has been straining Old Madras Road, a major arterial road in the city. The length of traffic queues forces commuters to wait for at least two signal cycles to cross a signalised junction for most of the day. This situation persists despite the green signal lasting 90 seconds.

Meanwhile, on sub-arterial stretches such as Suranjandas Road, where the green signal lasts less than 40 seconds, commuters are forced to wait for at least three to four signal cycles to cross the junction.

Choked connecting routes

Deeksha C., a regular commuter, said, “It takes at least 15 to 20 minutes on Suranjandas Road near the NGEF signal. Even the alternative routes are choked, so the only option is to wait, which increases the travel time multi-fold.”

The ripple effect of congestion on Old Madras Road and the three sub-arterial stretches is now extending to connecting roads as well, putting additional pressure on residential roads.

Vijay Kumar, an autorickshaw driver standing near the NGEF bus stand, said that during peak hours, autorickshaw drivers would not accept rides that required them to cross NGEF Junction unless they were long-distance trips.

“We can complete two to three short-distance rides if we don’t have to cross Suranjandas Road-Old Madras Road. So, if short-distance rides involve this junction, we don’t accept them,” he said.

He further noted that most two-wheeler riders and autorickshaw drivers travel against the direction of traffic on one-way roads, particularly during peak hours when the congestion is high. When The Hindu visited the area, commuters heading towards NGEF signal continued to use the one-way stretch towards New Tippasandra, increasing the risk of fatal accidents. Similar scenes persist on both 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road during peak hours.

Meanwhile, crossing Suranjandas Junction has become a herculean task for pedestrians, who barely get ten seconds to cross the road, a window that motorists also use. For instance, traffic coming from Kallapalli Road takes a right turn while commuters on Old Madras Road also take a right turn towards the same road, creating a bottleneck and putting pedestrians crossing the road at risk.

Is there a solution?

A senior traffic police officer told The Hindu that a skywalk had been proposed at the junction because of the high volume of pedestrian movement due to the S.V. Road Metro station. The junction has also been listed for improvement under the Suraksha 75 project. However, no work has begun. Calls to Central Corporation officials seeking to ascertain the reason for the delay went unanswered.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Traffic Police have synchronised signals along Old Madras Road to improve vehicular movement. However, the measure has not yielded the desired results. “We have synchronised the signals, but multiple ambulances use this stretch, so we keep switching to manual control. It is difficult to keep the signals along this stretch synchronised,” a traffic police officer said.

A senior GBA official, however, said there had been a proposal to construct an underpass when HAL Airport Road was made signal-free, but it was later scrapped.

“Now, B-SMILE has floated a tender for an elevated corridor connecting KR Puram to Yeshwantpur, with multiple downramps. Once the project is completed, these junctions will see reduced congestion as through traffic will use the flyover,” the officer said. But the elevated corridors project has attracted substantial opposition from the citizens.