Bengaluru traffic police have expanded restrictions on heavy vehicles using the Varthur-Gunjur stretch of State Highway 35 in east Bengaluru, citing worsening congestion during school and peak commuting hours.
Heavy goods vehicles will now be barred from entering the corridor between 7am and 11am, 1pm and 3pm, and 4pm and 9pm. The revised schedule adds afternoon and evening restrictions to the earlier 7am-to-11am ban and covers periods associated with school movement and peak traffic.
Officials said the decision followed complaints about worsening congestion on the busy corridor, where children and other commuters have been spending extended periods in traffic. The restrictions are intended to reduce bottlenecks caused by heavy vehicles during the specified time windows.
A Whitefield traffic police officer said the corridor’s status as a state highway means it carries a high volume of heavy vehicle traffic. However, the road’s current condition, traffic volume and the movement of schoolchildren prompted the decision to introduce the additional restrictions.
“The road is narrow and has multiple T-junctions. Until traffic movement normalises and the road is widened to handle the current volume, these restrictions will continue,” an official said.
Police identified junctions and other choke points along the Varthur-Gunjur corridor as particular problem areas. The road’s limited width and multiple T-junctions create conditions in which heavy vehicles can slow traffic movement and contribute to queue formation, according to the officials quoted by the Times of India.
Enforcement teams have been stopping trucks and other heavy vehicles at entry points during the restricted hours. Police, however, acknowledged that some vehicles entered the corridor before the restrictions came into effect, creating an enforcement challenge around the timing of entry and movement through the route.
The restrictions will remain in force until traffic conditions improve substantially, police said. Officials also linked the duration of the measure to the widening of the road and the normalisation of traffic movement on the corridor.
