Bengaluru Traffic: ORR Faces Gridlock, Heavy Rain Causes Major Snarl On Mahadevapura To Manyata Tech Park

Heavy evening rain once again brought Bengaluru traffic to its knees on Monday, with key tech corridors witnessing severe congestion, waterlogging and extremely slow-moving vehicles across the city.

The stretch from Mahadevapura to Manyata Tech Park remained completely choked in traffic, with Google Maps showing long red stretches across the Outer Ring Road (ORR) corridor and travel times of nearly 1 hour 45 minutes. Commuters travelling through Kadubeesanahalli, Marathahalli, Nagawara and surrounding IT zones reported massive delays as vehicles crawled through rain-hit roads. Google Maps showed long red stretches across the ORR corridor, with major choke points visible around Mahadevapura, KR Puram, Tin Factory, Benniganahalli, Banaswadi, Nagawara and roads leading towards Manyata Tech Park. Slow-moving traffic was also reported near Kasturinagar, Hebbal-side connecting roads and nearby junctions, with commuters reporting travel times of nearly two hours.

Major congestion was reported across Kadubeesanahalli, Marathahalli, Nagawara and nearby IT corridors, worsening the evening commute for thousands of office-goers returning home after work.

The worsening rain situation also sparked fresh calls for companies to allow employees to work from home, especially with more rainfall predicted in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Residents and commuters said reducing the number of vehicles on roads could help ease pressure on traffic-hit stretches already affected by ongoing metro construction work.

The city's traffic nightmare was further intensified by flooding at multiple underpasses and junctions. The Cantonment Underpass once again came under criticism from commuters, with many pointing out how the stretch struggles even during regular peak-hour traffic and becomes nearly unusable during rainy spells due to flooding and heavy congestion.

@ICCCBengaluru water logging in middle of Manyata flyover which is causing huge traffic. This happens every-time it rains.
The service road below the flyover is also clogged and risky for bikers. pic.twitter.com/Tzek1wuazf

— Suhas Deshmukh (@Suhas00147) May 18, 2026

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Traffic Police issued multiple traffic advisories warning commuters about severe congestion caused by waterlogging and ongoing metro work across several parts of the city.

Bengaluru : Water gushes through Commercial Street after an hour of intense rain pic.twitter.com/2mzcE2W4HP

— Karthik Reddy (@bykarthikreddy) May 18, 2026

According to traffic police updates, congestion was reported in the following areas:

GRT Junction towards Hosakote
Vaddarahalli towards Geddalahalli
Cauvery Junction towards Palace Cross
Udaya TV Underpass towards Jayamahal Road
Kalyan Nagar towards Uttam Sagar Junction
Hennur Cross towards Vaddarapalya
Vaddarapalya towards Geddalahalli
Cristal Palace to Nandagokula Road

From Mahadevapura to Manyata Tech park is full Red in Traffic Jams.

Evening rains and its horrible impact.

Tomorrow as well Rainfall is predicted in the City. Its better people work from Home.
Better avail and ensure there is less load on the roads.#BengaluruRains pic.twitter.com/xzE2W7ZABk

— Namma Karnataka Weather (@namma_vjy) May 18, 2026

The K.R. Puram Traffic Police also warned that waterlogging near GRT Junction on Old Madras Road (OMR) had slowed traffic movement both towards Hosakote and towards Bengaluru city.

Waterlogging @ vidyashilpa under pass..slow traffic to city...avoid underpass @blrcitytraffic @DCPTrNorthBCP @BlrCityPolice pic.twitter.com/8ph3a1A8z5

— ACP Traffic Northeast Pradeep (@acpnortheasttr) May 18, 2026

Another advisory stated that traffic from Veerannapalya towards the Outer Ring Road KEB Junction was moving slowly due to a combination of rainwater accumulation and ongoing metro construction work.

In Malleshwaram, a tree fall near the ISKCON temple affected traffic movement towards Mahalakshmi Metro Station, while waterlogging at Mekhri Circle slowed traffic towards JC Nagar.

Several commuters were stranded in long queues of vehicles as buses, cars and two-wheelers crawled through flooded roads amid continuous rainfall. Many bikers were seen taking shelter under flyovers and metro pillars as the rain continued late into the evening.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rainfall in Bengaluru and several Karnataka districts over the next 24 hours, raising concerns that the city could witness another day of severe traffic congestion and waterlogging if heavy showers continue.