Built at the cost of Rs 449 crore, the double-decker flyover stretches 5.12 km from Ragigudda to Central Silk Board in Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru traffic police have said Silk Board Junction, an area often called the ‘mother of traffic congestion’ in the city, has recorded a nearly 50 per cent reduction in traffic snarls after the opening of the double-decker flyover in July.

According to the data shared by Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police East (Traffic), the average congestion alerts per day and the traffic congestion during morning and peak hours at Silk Board Junction have reduced following the opening up of the double-decker flyover, the first in the city, which was inaugurated on July 18.

Jain presented the data as part of his keynote address during the 25th SAFE Annual Convention organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The data compares congestion levels before the opening of the flyover (July 12-17), immediately after (July 18-23), and a month later (September 5-10). According to the congestion trends before the flyover opened, there were 24 daily congestion alerts, which decreased to 15 after a month at the Silk Board junction. The average length of traffic queues was reduced from 19 km to 10 km during the same period at the Silk Board Junction.

Data shared by the Bengaluru traffic police comes in the wake of many commuters complaining about traffic congestion below the flyover. It was observed that only vehicles from Ragigudda were using the flyover, and a significant amount of traffic from BTM Layout, J P Nagar, and Bannerghatta Road continued to congest the roads below. Commuters reported bottlenecks near BTM Layout and Central Silk Board, which have eased after the flyover opened.

“At the Silk Board Junction, after a month of opening the flyover, there is a 42 per cent reduction in morning peak congestion between 8 am and 12 pm. Further, there is a 45 per cent reduction in evening peak congestion between 4 pm and 11 pm. Meanwhile, below the Silk Board flyover between Ragigudda to Silk Board junction there is a 56 per cent reduction as a whole,” said Jain who said traffic is managed accordingly based on data-driven decisions.