[Shamegz]

Mahaveer/Pumpwell circle is one of the busiest junctions in Mangalore where two national highways NH66 and NH75 intersect.
In the year 2009 construction for a flyover in this junction was approved and it is still under construction ; that's around 10 years for a 1KM flyover .

The project was sanctioned under phase III of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) to the "Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd"(NUTPL).The official inauguration of the Pumpwell flyover was supposed to be done on March 31 2013. The date has come and long gone, and since then, residents have heard new and multiple deadlines being set time and again by either local representatives or the NHAI. February 2014, January 2016, June 2016, June 2017, December 2017, April 2018 , February 2019 all deadlines were missed.Despite the non-completion of work, NHAI permitted the NUTPL to collect toll from February 2017.

The fact-finding team of the Forum For Justice (FFJ), led by its working president Dayanath Kotian and N G Mohan, said that, according to national and international standards, the height of a flyover should be 5.5 meters. But, the board installed at at the construction site reveals the Pumpwell flyover to be at a height of 4.5 meters since the beginning of work on the flyover eight years ago, vehicles with superstructure had rammed the structure as many as six times.

Mangaloreans, utterly frustrated with public representatives and Project Heads of the NHAI are no longer confining their grievance to dharnas and protests, citizen activist are taking social media and have many posts in Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp with memes and trolls of the Pumpwell-flyover.

Continuous trolling, sarcastic celebrations, and even a mock ‘inauguration by the Prime Minister’ — there is no end to the many creative ways in which Mangaluru residents have been venting their frustration over the in completion of this 900-meter flyover in their city that lies unfinished for close to a decade now.

Sharing some famous trolls running around, so that we can enjoy a light hearted moment of "The Pumpwell flyover".

Translation: Still searching for that guy who told pumpwell flyover will be completed in 2018.


Translation: Trust is dead in this place. One genius was saying it will complete in February.


Translation: You people (engineers) are amazing.

[V.Narayan]

Thankyou for sharing. These eternally delayed projects rocket up total project costs 2X and more depriving budgets for other needed infrastructure. The senior bureaucrats keep changing every 2 years so that responsibility is hard to pin and ownership remains missing. This used to be the case in Gurgaon 15 years back but now we see projects getting commissioned on time though the pothole menace is still alive and well. I think Team BHP should have a section which highlights such permanently incomplete wonders.

[samaspire]

This is the hero of our story.

A corollary problem of this construction work is the water logging during monsoons as shown in one of the pictures above. 4 of the 5 roads intersecting at the circle climb up - which means water also flows down towards the circle during rains. And other new buildings around the area have ensured that this water will not flow out anywhere.

I do not remember having this flooding problem before the flyover work started. If some bright mind decides to raise the height of the flyover to 5.5 meters by digging up the road by 1 meter we can only imagine what will happen.

[blackwasp]

Joke of the decade. This is solely due to the lethargy of the politicians and favouritism of the NHAI towards the contractor. Stringent action must be taken against all those involved, even those who didn't expedite the work in their tenure.

And allowing the operator to collect the toll before work is done is just !

[samaspire]

This is how it was before - pretty free flowing, I would say. The circle itself was almost 30 meters in diameter (guesstimate). A flyover really wasn't needed there.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by samaspire

This is how it was before - pretty free flowing, I would say. The circle itself was almost 30 meters in diameter (guesstimate). A flyover really wasn't needed there.

In November 2017, I drove through Pumpwell to Kasaragod/Payyanur. I was on my long haul from Belgaum that day. I reached this point at 7.15 pm. In the entire route, Pumpwell (that Pentagon Hotel) area was the most messy, I must say. I wanted to have tea and had thought I would get a comfortable place to keep the car and relax, as I was expecting from my old experience of this junction. But, to my surprise, I found it utterly chaotic.

But, I was given exemption from paying toll at the toll plaza in Suratkal. For the reason that the toll guys were all people from Unnao and Kanpur and my car was UP 32 XX YYYY (Lucknow registered)! That was personal and unique as an experience though

I remember us catching buses to Kasaragod from the Pumpwell several times in the 1990s and early 2000s, whenever we were to return from Mangalore in the evenings or whenever we reached by bus from Bangalore and had to catch a connection bus to Kasaragod. Jyoti Theatre Circle was another point of connection (but that is, when we have luxury of time).

When I went to Mangalore from Payyanur twice by road in June 2018, Pumpwell circle was in the same messy state. That was by a taxi, and while returning, my driver had opted for the Falnir - Netravathi narrow road, avoiding the Pumpwell altogether. I was wondering about the delay in completion but thought it would be a long flyover.

You are right. As I remember, there was never a Mekhri Circle (Bangalore) like situation here. It was always a smooth flow of vehicles. This was not one of those places you required a flyover urgently.

[Storm2.0]

A similar hanging flyover can be seen over the railway crossing at Baiyappanahalli. They started the construction of flyover but couldn't land it to the ground because they needed some land from army area and they refused to give it . It think this too has been in this half completed stage for the last 5 years at least.

[TROOPER]

Anywhere in Mangalore, even at peak hours its smooth flowing traffic. One of the reasons I love Mangalore You can get around this city in a jiffy. Some rare occasions of delays do happen.

Been coming to Mangalore regularly since 2012 (Tulunadu is my native) and having stayed there for over 6 months last year, I can attest that what a wonderful pain point this junction has become in a city that has excellent main roads.

Good roads and cleanliness are one of the strong points of Mangalore and this one sticks out like a sore thumb.

With excellent road development going on in and around the city, can't wrap my head around how this hasn't been completed yet.

Come to think of it, we have two very similar incomplete flyovers at the start and end of South Canara, one at Pumpwell and one at Kundapura. Been seeing that one since 2012.

[Enobarbus]

This shows that there was no planning before they embarked on the project. There are many examples of such pathetic planning across India. The first example that comes to my mind is the Kanakadurga flyover of Vijayawada. This flyover too is under construction for the past five years. In the case of Vijayawada flyover, I understand that it is the lack of funds that is holding up the project. Untold sufferings were inflicted on the people because of such bad financial planning.

[ClassicScooter]

Ha, similar items of poor planning/execution can also been seen in Ernakulam.
1. Aluva Flyover: This 860m flyover from Pulinchode ends right before the nearly 80 year old Marthanda Varma Bridge at a signal. The service road beside the flyover also ends up there causing confusion among vehicles wishing to go into Aluva town. Also, the bridge over Periyar River is narrow, and 250m away is the Thottakattukara Junction and a further 750 m away is the Paravur Junction. Had the flyover been planned well as a grade separator, it could have had separate exits for the above-mentioned Junctions and created an easier path to the airport at Nedumbassery.

2. Palarivattom Flyover: This was constructed on the NH bypass to help streamline traffic on the bypass. During its construction between 2013-2016 it created traffic blocks on all roads in its vicinity. Now, less than 2 years later the flyover has been shut down to be reconstructed, due to shoddy construction. The place is a traffic nightmare again. The case here is of shoddy construction and corruption, as also of poor planning. This flyover, along with those under construction at nearby Vyttila and Kundannur beyond that should have been grade separators in the first place.

3. Pachalam ROB: Constructed after much deliberation and planning that went back to the 80's, this S-shaped ROB at Pachalam is another case of planning gone awry. Land comes at a premium in Kerala, especially in a city like Ernakulam, so a lot of compromises are made. The ROB's two ramps end at 2 junctions, where a right turn is prohibited. Instead, you need to take a 1 km long detour. The fun part is that one of the junctions leads to the railway gate to the line leading to the now abandoned Old Railway Station, which is being planned as a terminal for suburban trains the future. If this happens, this ROB will not serve its purpose fully, and instead lead to chaos nearby.

Kathrikadavu ROB: This 2 lane ROB on the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road too starts and ends at 2 junctions which are 4 laned, leading to constant chaos.

[naveen.raju]

Two projects came to my mind when I read this thread:

1) Alleppey Bypass - Project started back in the mid 70's and it's still not completed (90% done). I hope they are not waiting for the golden jubilee celebrations.

2) Thammanam-Pullepady road widening - Blame game continues here and the work is not even half way done. It's been almost 30 years I guess.

Sorry for going OT. .

[lohithrao]

We Mangaloreans have got used to it I guess? another one is in the making is Kundapura bridge, already half done flyover is rotting now even the new bridge which they started a year plus back is showing no progress.

Meanwhile, the highway between BC road till Hassana, apart from Shiradi stretch is in pathetic condition. the reason being the 4lane work has stopped.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Two projects came to my mind when I read this thread:

Nice one.

For more fun you should travel little southeast of Cochin to my native Mulanthuruthy. There stay this little engineering wonder for more than 10 years now and we all are looking face to face to know more about it. Neither it is in the direction of the existing road nor there is any road in it's direction.

[GeneralJazz]

Originally Posted by myavu

Nice one.

For more fun you should travel little southeast of Cochin to my native Mulanthuruthy. There stay this little engineering wonder for more than 10 years now and we all are looking face to face to know more about it. Neither it is in the direction of the existing road nor there is any road in it's direction.

I remember this one! I studied near Piravom. This engineering miracle is on the Mulanthuruthy-Thiruvankulam route tight? Usually for such bridges, the section above the railway lines would be the last to be finished. Back when I was in college,I used to be surprised that this section was completed first and that the rest of the bridge would be constructed soon! Guess its still in limbo now!

[srishiva]

The flyover built on ORR over railway lines from Tumkur road towards Hebbal took a really long time.

Even now after construction, they have only one lane. Really pathetic.