571 accidents in 5 months on B’luru-Mysuru Expressway; NHAI proposes skywalks
2 min read
Mysuru: Alarmed at the rise of series of accidents on the Bengaluru-Mysuru ten-lane Expressway – over 571 accidents and 58 deaths since it was thrown open to public five months ago – the authorities at the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are planning to build skywalks to check accidents on the stretch.
Although it is the first access-controlled Expressway – built at a cost of 8,408 cr – in South India, the 119-km stretch of Expressway has become a headache for the Highway authorities.
While overspeeding could be the reason behind the accidents, lack of safety measures to check the accidents too have contributed to the deaths, observe people here. Besides, the wired mesh that has been wrapped on either side of the road to prevent people from nearby villages from accidentally entering the highway has been damaged. The authorities and even the Member of Parliament Pratap Simha are blaming the villagers for this damage. But, the villagers’ grouse is that they have to take a detour of at least two to three kilometers to reach underpasses built near some villages to get on to the Expressway. Hence, some are damaging the mesh resulting in accidents.
Faced with criticism by the people, the highway authorities are now planning to construct at least 18 skywalks in the 55-km highway in Mandya district and another 21 skywalks in Mysuru, Ramanagar and Bengaluru rural districts where the Expressway runs. It is learned that the authorities have already identified places for skywalks and the process of land acquisition will need to be initiated.
Meanwhile, the Manipal Hospital Circle in Mysuru is witnessing severe traffic blocks and the highway authorities are planning to have a junction at the Expressway to check traffic bottlenecks at the Manipal Hospital Circle.
-Team Mysoorunews
Mysooru News
