The Silk Board junction acts as a gateway to the two important IT clusters in Bangalore–the Outer Ring Road cluster towards the east and Electronic City to the south. The proximity to these two major hubs in the city, known as the "IT capital of India", has led to bottleneck of vehicular movement at the junction. According to a study conducted by Consortium of Traffic Engineers and Safety Trainers in 2017, the average speed of vehicles at the junction during peak hours is, the lowest in the city. This junction also features among the seven worst traffic bottlenecks in India, a list compiled by Ola Cabs as part of a study. The junction is also one of the two most polluted areas in the city, according to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board's survey in 2016, recording high levels of residual suspended particulate matter well above the national permissible limit; the high pollution level has been attributed to the traffic congestion at the junction.
Action
In 2014, the Silk Board junction bus stop was moved away from the junction towards HSR Layout in order to ensure free vehicular movement. In 2016, the Government of Karnataka and Bangalore Development Authority gave the go-ahead to a controlled access road from the Silk Board junction to K. R. Puram Outer Ring Road at a cost of 121 crore. In 2017, a flyover near Padmanabhanagar, which will be part of a signal-free corridor from Nayandahalli junction to Silk Board junction, was inaugurated. In January 2017, the Outer Ring Road Namma Metro line from Silk Board junction to K. R. Puram proposed by BMRCL, estimated to cost 4,202 crore, was approved by the government. The interchange station at Silk Board would cost approximately 900 crore, and would require acquisition of two acres of land of the Central Silk Board office and quarter acre each on either side of the road. BMRCL also announced the construction of a long road-cum-rail flyover between Ragigudda and Silk Board junction. The flyover will be built above the ground while the metro line is planned to be constructed from the surface, making it the first Metro project in which metrorail would run above a flyover. This metro line aims to make the junction signal-free and is projected to start operation by 2020. The metro line received the state Cabinet's approval in March 2017.
