The BMRCL has deferred the demolition of the Jayadeva flyover by at least four to five months as the contractor concerned is not ready to take up the subsequent work, including construction of a multi-level flyover.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had planned to demolish the 12-year-old structure by the end of March and start working on a four-level flyover while retaining the underpass.
A senior BMRCL official said the decision to defer the demolition was taken to ensure that lakhs of people who use the flyover are not put to unnecessary inconvenience.
"We realised that the contractor is not prepared for the subsequent work after the demolition. We have urged the contractor to finish the other allied work and start piling work to allow the use of the flyover till its demolition becomes part of the critical stage of the project," he said.
The new flyover, which includes the Jayadeva Interchange Metro Station, is a part of Phase 2's RV Road-Bommasandra metro line (Reach 5), for which tenders were awarded in three packages, last July. The contractor for RV Road-HSR Layout package is yet to complete the road widening work, officials said.
Officials said that they were still assessing the value of 114 buildings that will make way for road widening and shifting of utilities.
"The road widening has to be completed before demolishing the flyover. We have identified Marenahalli Road as an alternative route and a 4.5-metre road will connect that road to ease the traffic flow," he said.
Sources in BMRCL, however, said that there was pressure from political leaders to delay the demolition to avoid inconvenience to the people ahead of the election. "Any metro line involves a chain of work which can't happen without removing the existing structures. A senior politician has expressed concern that the demolition will attract people's ire," the source said.
The senior official, however, said there was no political pressure and refused to comment on the possible delay in completion of the project. "The flyover works make it (RV Road-HSR Layout section) the toughest package to execute. The tender for this package was awarded We are confident of meeting the deadline," he said.