BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday laid the foundation stone for Bengaluru’s first tunnel road project, which is aimed at easing the traffic between the infamous Hebbal Junction and Mekhri Circle. The six-lane, bidirectional 2.2 km tunnel project, undertaken at Rs 1,139 crore, is expected to be completed in 18 months. The maximum speed in the tunnel will be 60km per hour, and it will be toll-free, the CM said.
The Congress-led state government has gone ahead with the project despite widespread opposition and warnings from mobility experts that tunnels would not solve Bengaluru’s traffic congestion.
The tunnel will start from Bellary Road–Hebbal Junction, pass under the railway bridge, Outer Ring Road and the veterinary college campus. It will end near the University of Agricultural Sciences staff quarters and will provide a signal-free corridor to those heading towards Kempegowda International Airport.
The chief minister said the project would be executed using cut-and-cover methodology, and the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) would fund it. He said the government is drawing up plans for the city for the next 50 years. He also said proposals have also been submitted for the North-South corridor of the tunnel road project connecting Hebbal with Silk Board and that it would be completed in three to four years.
Slamming the Opposition parties who are against the tunnel road project, Shivakumar said they did not do anything to address the city’s traffic problem when they were in power, but were now criticising his government’s initiative. He also said that he was open to criticisms and feedback but would not bow to pressures.
Salient features
It will be a six-lane (3+3) bi-directional tunnel, with a carriage width of 10.5 metres for three lanes
To follow cut-and-cover tunnel, open-cut ramps, and cast-in-situ box structures
To have a longitudinal tunnel ventilation system
For safety, tunnel to have smoke detection, fire suppression, emergency evacuation and fire response systems
To have CCTVs, public address system, emergency call network, tunnel radio and a voice-message system
