Bengaluru: “First in my bloodline to cross Silk Board without a traffic signal,” a motorist chortled on the web. His celebration was evident. With the opening of a double-decker flyover over Silk Board junction, one of its ramps has facilitated easy traffic flow from HSR Layout towards Jayanagar.Another netizen exclaimed: “Wow! This (is) a dream come true! I have spent a good chunk of my life on that Silk board traffic junction travelling from ITPL to BTM Layout!”Before the ramps (including the previously opened one connecting Ragigudda with Hosur Road-HSR Layout) were conceived, Silk Board junction was emblematic of Bengaluru’s traffic nightmare. For nearly a decade, it was, perhaps, the first traffic junction in the country to get a parody social media account.Motorists, especially tech company employees travelling towards Electronics City and Mahadevapura, initially dreaded Silk Board junction and later came to terms with their predicament cracking jokes on getting stuck at the junction. They said in lighter vein: We write codes and programs for startups, with thousands of motor engines idling away.Cut to the present. Motorists who would take more than 40 minutes to navigate 3.5km now vroom from HSR Layout towards Ragigudda in under 10 minutes. And five signals less.Ravi Kumar, a daily commuter, hoped this would ease traffic congestion at Silk Board. Vijeth Kumar, an ‘X’ user, said he was able to drive from Silk Board to Ragigudda in 6-8 minutes as against nearly an hour earlier. “The Marenahalli signal was manually managed, and I crossed it in a minute,” he said.+++++++Story – 2Marenahalli Rd to take Silk Board load — and memesTimes News Network Bengaluru: One traffic junction’s joy is another’s peril. The Marenahalli signal — a little-discussed junction on the city’s traffic map, near Sri Raghavendraswamy Mutt in Jayanagar — is set to face congestion that’s shifted from Silk Board junction. Handling traffic volume on Marenahalli Road — from Ragigudda Road to Banashankari bus terminus — and on the approaching roads in Jayanagar and JP Nagar will be challenging.A senior traffic official said, “By taking the elevated road from Silk Board to Ragigudda, motorists avoid five signals, including those at BTM Layout and Jayadeva Hospital. On the first day, additional staff were deployed to manage traffic in Jayanagar and Banashankari traffic police limits.”In the past, Greater Bengaluru Authority proposed construction of an underpass to ease traffic congestion at the junction, but taking up road infrastructure projects remains challenging. A traffic official said, “There is no scope for widening Marenahalli Road as it is a developed area. Any further construction would also impact the flow of traffic.”On measures to ease congestion, Bengaluru South Corporation commissioner Ramesh KN said, “An announcement has been made in the budget and infrastructure work will be taken up. We’ll conduct a feasibility study before finalising whether the construction of an underpass or other road infrastructure solutions would be suitable.”— Nyasa Gupta
