JC Road finally gets its new look but GBA took 11 months to white-top just 2 km

Bengaluru:

“The JC Road vibe feels totally different after the white topping and footpath makeover. The wide, uncluttered footpath looks great. Hope the rest of the city gets the same treatment,” wrote Srihari Karanth on X — a crisp, appreciative note that captures what residents and shoppers finally see today on one of Bengaluru’s most important arteries.

But the finish line was far from straightforward.

Work on the JC Road white-topping — the cement concrete overlay and accompanying footpath revamp between Nala Junction and Town Hall/Minerva Circle — began late in 2024 and stretched into 2025, with long periods of disruption that turned everyday travel into a nightmare for many.

Early advisories show the project was rolled out in November 2024, with work mobilised around 7–8 November and activity formally reported as starting from 1 December 2024 in some coverage.

This goes to show that the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) took nearly eleven months to white-top just about 2-kms of road. Yet, there are some incomplete patches too.

JC Road matters because it is not just another city street — it is a key connector that channels traffic from south Bengaluru into the central business district.

In the last eleven months, the project repeatedly missed intermediate deadlines.

What was expected to be a relatively short, tightly scheduled upgrade became a protracted affair: a May 31, 2025 target was missed, and officials later faced an October 31 deadline they too struggled to meet. Reports in late October and early November 2025 record authorities warning that the deadline would be missed and seeking further extensions as work lagged.

That slow pace produced acute consequences on the ground. For many months the stretch resembled a construction zone: open trenches, exposed utility work, frequent diversions and heavy dust. Commuters complained of hour-long delays on short trips; pedestrians had to pick their way past unbarricaded ditches; and a June incident in which a man fell into an uncovered ditch heightened public alarm over safety.

Local traders — from automobile accessory shops to eateries — reported dramatic falls in footfall and revenue, some claiming losses running into large percentages as customers avoided the stretch altogether.

As complaints mounted, senior officials stepped in with inspections and review drives. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) chief commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao led late-night monitoring drives and inspected the JC Road sites to speed up the work.

By mid-November 2025, authorities reported substantial progress: half the Minerva–Town Hall section had been opened to traffic, with remaining short stretches slated for swift completion after renewed night-time pushes and contractor action plans. Officials said the final segments would be finished within days of the inspections, and images of finished footpaths and smoother traffic flow have begun appearing on social channels — including Srihari Karanth’s appreciative post that many residents echoed.

While the road now is smooth, it’s unlikely to make any difference to the traffic congestion despite spending crores for the development.