Mahadevapura, home to some of the city’s largest IT hubs and fastest-expanding residential clusters, is choking under traffic bottlenecks that were flagged nearly a decade ago but remain unresolved.
A series of flyovers, elevated corridors and grade separators planned for east Bengaluru by multiple State road agencies, including the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), have either stalled midway or moved at a crawl, leaving commuters to navigate unfinished infrastructure across key stretches such as Dommasandra, Varthur Kodi, and Panathur.
Almost a decade ago, KRDCL unveiled plans for an elevated corridor along the Varthur stretch, along with grade separators at key junctions including Dommasandra, Varthur Kodi, and a railway underbridge at Kadugodi. At the time, these projects were projected as long-term solutions to east Bengaluru’s growing congestion, driven by an explosion of housing layouts, schools, technology parks and commercial establishments. However, many of these works have since slipped into limbo, with deadlines repeatedly revised but rarely met.
In the Mahadevapura zone alone, multiple infrastructure projects, including Carmelaram railway overbridge (RoB) at the Panathur junction, are currently stuck at various stages of execution. Despite continuous follow-ups by citizen groups and local representatives, progress has remained slow owing to a combination of delayed payments to contractors, land acquisition hurdles, and repeated design revisions.
The Dommasandra flyover project, initiated in 2020, has been pending and stalled for several years leading to heavy congestion in the area .
| Photo Credit:
ALLEN EGENUSE J.
“The prolonged delays have had a cascading impact on daily life. We spend hours navigating short stretches, dust pollution from stalled construction sites has worsened air quality in the area, and narrow, damaged roads have become accident-prone. While agencies continue to cite technical and administrative challenges, the lack of coordinated planning has turned critical corridors into permanent choke points for us, the residents,” Shwetha M., a resident of Varthur, said.
Dommasandra flyover
One of the most visible symbols of stalled infrastructure is the Dommasandra flyover on Sarjapur Road, a crucial arterial stretch connecting Dommasandra Circle to Carmelaram and Kadugodi. Proposed nearly five years ago to decongest the corridor, the flyover was intended to address intense traffic caused by a high concentration of schools, apartment complexes, and commercial establishments, while also improving connectivity towards Electronics City and other employment hubs.
Construction on the flyover began several years ago but was repeatedly halted owing to difficulties in acquiring private land and problems with contractors. For long stretches, the project site lay idle, with partially erected structures rusting and construction debris contributing to dust pollution along the busy road. Although work resumed in late 2023 after land acquisition issues were close to being resolved, the flyover remains incomplete as of December 2025.
The impact on commuters has been severe. “Motorists often lose 20 to 30 minutes on a stretch that should otherwise take only a few minutes. School buses are frequently delayed, even businesses now have started complaining about the disruptions due to poor accessibility. Peak-hour congestion routinely spills into interior residential roads, worsening traffic chaos across the area,” Akash Kamath, a resident of the same area said.
Varthur Kodi
Further, the widening of the Varthur–Gunjur Road and the construction of the elevated corridor at Varthur Kodi continue to progress at a crawl. Officials acknowledge that at least two more years of disruption for motorists and residents is expected and that land acquisition has emerged as the single biggest setback, pushing the project’s completion timeline to 2027.
Approved in 2016–17, the project is being executed by KRDCL and involves a 1.92-km, 60-foot-wide elevated stretch from Varthur Lake Kodi to Vinayaka Theatre. The plan includes widening the existing 30-metre road to nearly 100 metres, extending the mini-flyover at Varthur Kodi, integrating a double-decker structure and accommodating railway alignment requirements.
Officials, however, blame that these features have added to the project’s complexity and significantly prolonged execution timelines.
On the ground, progress remains limited, with drainage works and selective demolitions accounting for most of the visible activity. These pending acquisitions have slowed the entire corridor, creating uncertainty for thousands of commuters who rely heavily on State Highway-35 as their primary connector.
KRDCL officials, however, said that work has marginally improved compared to the previous year and further point to progress achieved through Transferable Development Rights (TDR) issued by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA).
Panathur–Balagere
Panathur and Balagere have recently seen a measure of relief with the opening of a widened S-Cross junction and a railway underpass that has been expanded into two vents. The upgraded infrastructure initially improved traffic flow, particularly for commuters travelling towards the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and nearby tech-parks.
However, residents say traffic has already begun building up again, especially during morning peak hours. Many argued that the intervention would have been far more effective had it been implemented when originally proposed and that it is inadequate to cope with today’s density and future growth.
(This is the third in a multi-part series)
Published – December 17, 2025 07:00 am IST
