The BBMP released a report titled ‘Comprehensive Bengaluru City Traffic Management Infrastructure Plan – proposals for vehicular tunnel / grade separator / road widening in selected corridors- final feasibility report, December 2024’ after the tunnel road project (TRP) had been greenlighted by the Karnataka cabinet in August. The project includes proposals for 16 elevated corridors and underpasses, 2 double decker corridors, and 2 tunnel roads, one connecting Hebbal to Silk board, and the other connecting K.R Puram to Naydanahalli.
According to the report, these plans will ‘prioritize enhancing road speeds, reducing congestion, and ensuring pedestrian safety while improving access to public transport , private vehicles and NMT(non motorised transport)’. The TRP has several issues, ranging from poor planning, misplaced priorities, harmful environmental impacts, etc.
The route of the tunnels is very similar to already existing and planned metro lines. The tunnel connecting Hebbal to Silk board is within 1 km to the proposed Sarjapur-Hebbal metro stations. Moreover the tunnel will have only 3 exits, whereas the metro station has 10, making it much more convenient for commuters. The ramp entries and exits are longer than the actual ramps themselves. Both will add to inconvenience, congestion, and pollution. Shockingly, for such a terribly planned project, they plan to levy a toll of Rs 16/km for cars. Tolls are not usually levied within cities, and this is much higher than the cost of petrol. This means that the tunnel from Hebbal to Silk board would be around Rs. 300, making it affordable only for elites. To make things even more inaccessible, no bikes or autos are allowed, only cars.
It is not just inconvenience and inaccessibility, but also environmental damage that the project endeavours to deliver. The tunnel will run very close to Hebbal lake, and also cut water under and across the overflow canal between Hebbal lake and Nagavara lake, which will surely affect the ecosystems of both the lakes. Water aquifers along the length of the tunnel and ramps would also be disturbed and contaminated with chemicals. In a city which is so prone to both droughts and floods caused by poor urban planning, tampering with the water ecosystem even more is bound to have serious consequences. Building the tunnel would surely lead to felling of trees, not only for the 16.68 km tunnel but also for the 17.86 km ramps. A high concentration of pollutants from vehicle emissions will accumulate in the tunnels, and be released out at the entry/exits and ventilation shafts, adding to the air pollution in and around the openings.
The TRP is estimated to cost Rs. 54,964 crores of public money with a severe environmental cost. However, it will remain a pricy, exclusive piece of roadway inaccessible to the majority of the people in Bengaluru. toll is much higher than the cost of petrol/km for cars. This means that the tunnel from Hebbal to Silk board would be around Rs. 300, making it affordable only for elites. To make things even more inaccessible, no bikes or autos are allowed, only cars.
