September 10, 2025

Bengaluru’s North gets its own flyover saga! The Yelahanka flyover, stretching 1.8 km from the police station to Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan junction, was meant to be a speedy fix for traffic. Launched in 2022 with a hefty Rs 164 crore budget, this flyover promised a smooth ride towards Doddaballapur Road and beyond. But hold your breath — it’s not ready yet and the finish line keeps moving! The new deadline is May 2026, more than three years after work kicked off. Initially set for 18 months only, the project has missed many targets, with the latest March 2024 deadline also gone bust. Instead of easing traffic, the road below the flyover is now a traffic jam hotspot, especially near Seshadripuram College and the busy NES junction. The chaos is a headache for everyone—drivers stuck in never-ending queues and pedestrians risking danger. "Every single day, the incomplete flyover drains hours of our lives, tests our patience, and puts people at risk. What was promised as a solution has become a punishment. For me, it means losing an hour daily — time I could spend with family or at work. Instead, I spend it trapped in a chaotic traffic jam caused by a half-built flyover that seems to have no end in sight," shares Malla Reddy, a local resident on Doddaballapur Road. Weekends turn the jam to a nightmare. Crowds pour in from nearby malls and cinemas, making the Police Station Junction almost standstill. People desperate to cross roads signal vehicles to stop but safety remains a big concern. "Weekends and Mondays are the worst. There's no proper crossing, so people signal vehicles to stop. Sometimes they do, but it is often dangerous," says Ravichandra, a techie who travels daily from NES bus stop to Devanahalli. Why such slow progress? Officials from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) point fingers at tough challenges: no service roads for work, limited night-time work hours (11 pm to 5:30 am), land acquisition problems, and moving underground utilities. "In most flyover projects, we get a service road to work from. But here, we only have the main carriageway, which is a state highway and a major bus route. Traffic police have said there is no way to divert vehicles, so we are limited to working between 11pm and 5.30am," explained a GBA engineer. Despite the hurdles, GBA claims 65% of work is done. "We have completed 90% of the land acquisition, erected most pillars, and installed many girders. Ramp construction has begun on Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road. We aim to finish by March 2026, with a two-month buffer," the engineer added. Big bosses are watching closely. GBA chief civic commissioner Maheshwar Rao recently visited Yelahanka and ordered officials to speed up work and finish the flyover by Dec 2025, a bit faster than the May 2026 plan. Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath, keeping an eye on things, admits money worries slowed things down. "At one point, BBMP had not released grants, and I had to intervene. Traffic has worsened since the work began, but with the issues resolved, we hope to complete the flyover by April 2026," he told TOI. Still, locals grow restless and want faster action. "This prolonged construction is disrupting lives and raising safety concerns. Creating better infrastructure within tighter timelines should be a priority to support the rapid growth of urbanisation and industrialisation," says Soumya Kustagi, a daily commuter and Yelahanka resident. The Yelahanka flyover saga continues, as Bengaluru waits for relief from its endless traffic tales!

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Tags: Yelahanka flyover, Bengaluru traffic, Flyover construction delay, Greater bengaluru authority, Urban infrastructure,