Bengaluru’s Mekhri Circle to face heavier congestion as second Hebbal loop construction continues

Mekhri Circle, already one of Bengaluru’s busiest traffic junctions, is expected to see more congestion in the coming days, as the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) pushes ahead with the construction of a second loop at the Hebbal flyover. The BDA is building a new loop from the Esteem Mall side to give vehicles from Yelahanka, Kogilu, Kodigehalli, Airport, and surrounding northern suburbs a direct entry towards Mekhri Circle. Currently, vehicles coming from Tumakuru Road to the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and heading towards Mehkri Circle are forced to merge with traffic from the Esteem Mall service road. From there, they must climb the Tumakuru Road loop to access the already-choked flyover that carries airport-bound traffic. Once complete, it is expected to ease piling traffic at the Hebbal junction by giving these vehicles a separate two-lane passage. For now, however, the construction has slowed vehicular movement. The BDA has cut portions of the service roads near Hebbal to enable construction. This has forced the traffic police to gate the vehicles, limiting movement to two lanes in the busy corridor. As a result, vehicles from Yelahanka and other northern suburbs are funnelling into a narrower stretch, causing longer traffic jams during peak hours. Airport-bound traffic is also slowing down at this bottleneck. While traffic police officials admit that the new loop will ease congestion at Hebbal once it opens, they warn that the relief could be temporary. Unless the city corporations proceed with widening the service road near Mehkri Circle, where land acquisition remains stalled with defence authorities, the bottleneck may only shift further down the stretch and Mekhri Circle, where vehicles from Hebbal, Tumakuru Road, and Ballari Road already meet, they said. The increased inflow is also expected to push more traffic into nearby routes, including Cauvery theatre junction and Palace Guttahalli, a traffic police official added. BDA to miss deadline again Meanwhile, a senior official from the BDA told The Hindu that the deadline set by the Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar for the project is November 30. “However, continuous rains have affected progress, and the authority may require an additional 30 days, pushing the expected completion to January 1,” the official added.