Bengaluru’s First Double-Decker Metro Flyover Opens at Silk Board, Easing Major Traffic Bottleneck

All five ramps of the Central Silk Board double-decker flyover are now in operation, delivering much-needed relief to thousands of daily commuters on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road. With flyovers D and E opened to traffic, the complete 3.2 km network is active, reducing delays at one of the city's busiest junctions.

Bengaluru's first double-decker metro flyover opens at Silk Board

The Central Silk Board junction is regarded as Bengaluru's second-worst bottleneck after Hebbal. Previously, gridlock persisted for hours as vehicles from HSR Layout, BTM Layout, Ragigudda, Hosur Road, and Electronic City merged. Officials note that the fully operational flyover system enables many vehicles to bypass the signal and continue moving.

Central Silk Board flyover boosts connectivity on Outer Ring Road

Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. constructed a set of five flyovers as part of a broader contract connected with Bengaluru Metro's Outer Ring Road corridor. These structures form the Blue Line's 9.8 km elevated segment from Silk Board to KR Puram, called Phase 2A, intended to reduce congestion at the Central Silk Board junction and nearby roads. Three branches of the Central Silk Board flyover network, designated A, B, and C, commenced operations in mid-2024. They enable traffic from Ragigudda and BTM Layout to proceed toward HSR Layout and Electronic City without stopping at the main Silk Board signal, with traffic authorities noting an initial decrease in queues once these links were opened.

Central Silk Board flyover brings time savings for commuters

With flyovers D and E now added, drivers from HSR Layout heading to BTM Layout can avoid the intersection completely. Officials estimate that "Commuters can save at least 30 minutes of travel time." The signalised junction will mainly handle HSR-Madivala and Electronic City-HSR traffic, which is expected to further reduce chronic congestion.

Flyover D is a key feature of the Central Silk Board flyover network. It is the tallest of the five, rising 28 metres high at the fifth level. This section passes above the existing Hosur flyover, the Yellow Line metro and the double-decker roadway, creating a layered road-cum-rail structure for the first time in South India.

Construction teams faced limited working space because of the Rajakaluve drain on one side and three operating flyovers on the other, along with the under-construction Central Silk Board metro station on the Blue Line. Despite this, Project Manager Ambareesh said, "Despite heavy traffic volumes and confined working space due to existing Rajakaluve on one side and 3 operational flyovers (Hosur flyover, Flyover A & Flyover C) and under construction CSB station (blue line) the team successfully completed all flyovers with precision."

Central Silk Board flyover built amid complex metro works

Afcons officials said the Central Silk Board flyover works had to be tightly sequenced because of heavy traffic and multiple ongoing structures. Executive Vice-President D. Murugadasan explained that construction activity could only take place for five hours daily, from midnight to 5 am, so teams planned tasks carefully to fit this narrow window.

Executive Chairman Krishnamurthy Subramanian called the Central Silk Board flyover a project delivered under demanding conditions. "The Central Silk Board flyover stands as a testament to engineering excellence in the face of extraordinary complexity. Building a five-level structure amid Bengaluru's second busiest junctions required precision, perseverance and innovation. With all flyovers set to be operational, we are proud to deliver not just infrastructure, but meaningful relief to lakhs of commuters every day," said Krishnamurthy Subramanian.

The complete Central Silk Board flyover system includes five distinct links that connect major neighbourhoods and corridors around the junction. The layout is designed so that traffic from each direction gets dedicated ramps, reducing lane changes and bottlenecks near signal points and metro pillars.

Afcons Infrastructure Ltd is the infrastructure engineering and construction company of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The firm has worked for more than six decades on engineering, procurement and construction projects in India and abroad. According to the latest ENR survey, Afcons ranks among the top 140 international contractors, 12th in bridges and 8th in marine and ports.