10 Lane Bengaluru Road With Dangerous Design: Perfectly Placed To Become An Accident Zone [Video]

Just a while ago, the now Chief Minister of Bengaluru, D.K. Shivakumar, inaugurated one of its biggest road infrastructure projects, the new SM Krishna Road. This new 10-lane signal-free corridor has been built to reduce travel time between Mysuru Road and Magadi Road. It also offers commuters a toll-free alternative to the NICE Road. However, within days of its opening, videos from this road have shown that instead of smooth traffic flow, multiple vehicles, including cars, buses, trucks, and two-wheelers, have been seen driving on the wrong side and have now made it an accident hotspot.

For those who may not be aware, the SM Krishna Road has been built at a cost of around Rs 631 crore. The main aim of this road was to improve connectivity in West Bengaluru. The 11 km long corridor passes through Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout and connects Challaghatta with the other end of the city. It was inaugurated on June 27 by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Now, although this road has successfully managed to reduce travel time from around 60 minutes to just 20 minutes, its overall design of a few junctions has now become the centre of attention.

A recent video, which has been shared online by Deccan Heraldhas highlighted the condition of this road, which starts from Challaghatta. Vehicles here pass through a 270-metre-long tunnel. However, immediately after entering the tunnel in the video, a school bus can be seen coming from the wrong side.

Soon after this, a number of other vehicles were also seen travelling against the flow of traffic. According to the report, many people travelling from nearby localities regularly use the wrong side instead of following the designated route.

As per the video, one of the biggest problems is noted at the six roundabouts constructed along the corridor. Out of these, two roundabouts have been highlighted as particularly confusing. Instead of following the intended traffic movement, commuters from nearby residential areas are cutting directly across the main road by driving on the wrong side.

Also, at the Rotary 6 Junction between Brohali and Archakar Layout, the vehicles travelling between the two areas are mostly seen ignoring No Entry boards and one-way signs. The video even shows buses and heavy trucks driving in the wrong direction.

Additionally, two-wheelers seem to be moving from whichever direction they find convenient. This creates an extremely dangerous situation for other road users. Also, the drone footage highlights this problem even more. It shows that despite the presence of clear No Entry signs, many vehicle riders continue taking illegal shortcuts.

One of the reasons behind this behaviour appears to be the location of the legal U-turn. Drivers have to travel nearly 2 km before they can make a legal U-turn. So, instead of driving that extra distance, most of the drivers simply choose to enter the wrong side.

The confusion is so severe that several drivers are seen stopping in the middle of the junction to figure out which way they should go. In the video, we can note that the Maruti Suzuki WagonR driver first hesitates for a few seconds. However, soon after this, he decides to drive on the wrong side.

According to the report, the current situation is the result of both poor road design as well as poor civic sense among road users.

The second major problem area highlighted in the video is the Rotary 5 Junction, which connects Kommaghatta and Kengeri. At this junction, many vehicles from three different directions merge at a single point, which creates confusion for motorists.

The video also shows one white car completely avoiding the roundabout by taking an illegal shortcut. Meanwhile, many other vehicles continue driving against the traffic flow. Another issue is that the service roads are still incomplete because of pending land acquisition.

As a result, local commuters do not have a proper alternative route and often enter the main carriageway directly. This increases the chances of wrong-side driving and creates additional conflict points at the junctions.

Now, there is no doubt that the SM Krishna Road is an important infrastructure project for Bengaluru. Overall, it has been designed to provide faster travel, remove toll charges, and significantly cut commuting time. However, the current road design appears to have overlooked the needs of people living in the surrounding localities.

So, until the confusing junctions are redesigned, service roads are completed, clearer signage is installed, and safer U-turn options are provided, the road built to improve traffic flow will remain a dangerous accident-prone stretch.