BENGALURU: IT capital Bengaluru could score yet another first with tunnel roads to ease its worsening traffic woes. If all goes well, the city may get a Tunnel Ring Road and Tunnel Diagonal Roads that reduce the hassles of commuting.
An American company has submitted a proposal after surveying the traffic pattern in Bengaluru.
The proposal includes building a Tunnel Ring Road around the city and also two diagonal Tunnel Roads that intersect each other in the heart of the city and connect the proposed Tunnel Ring Road in a pattern that would look like an ‘+’ within a circle, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George said here on Tuesday. George said the company, which he did not name, had implemented similar projects in Malaysia and other countries. It would make a detailed presentation of the project in 15 to 20 days. The company seeks to implement the project under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
However, any decision on taking the proposal forward would be taken only after a detailed presentation of the project, George said.
The proposal has received a positive response from the government, which is getting a detailed project report done for the elevated east-west and north-south corridors to ease traffic congestion.
“Acquisition of land is a big problem for roads and the peripheral ring road (PRR) is struggling to take off due to hurdles in land acquisition and the high cost of the land,” a senior official in the Urban Development Department told Express.
In this backdrop, tunnel roads would be a choice, but the cost of construction would be huge, he added. “We have an open mind on the project. A clear picture on the alignment of the proposed Tunnel Ring Road and cost would emerge only after the US company makes a detailed presentation,” the official said.
Flyover vs ‘flyunder’
Planners believe that with real estate prices spiralling, acquiring land for flyovers is no longer an option. Going under would also free up space
Holland Tunnel
One of the oldest road tunnels is the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New York City with New Jersey on the mainland of the US. The work began in 1920 and was completed in 1927. The Lincoln Tunnel is the second automobile tunnel under the river.
Tunnel vision
Leeds in Yorkshire, the UK, already has an underground inner ring road
Boston’s main elevated freeway is now a tunnel called the “Big Dig”
Sydney is among the cities to build a brand new road tunnel