DKS backs tunnel road, says it'll bypass 25 congestion points

Bengaluru: A day after DH reported that toll charges for the proposed tunnel road have been increased even before it takes off, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar backed his pet project.

Writing on X, Shivakumar said that the 16.75-km tunnel road would help Bengalureans bypass over 25 congestion points along its route from Silk Board Junction to Hebbal and cut down travel time from 90 minutes to 45 minutes.

As reported by this newspaper on June 21, Shivakumar reiterated that the tunnel road would be constructed by eight Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) within three years.

"A faster, smarter Bengaluru is on its way — because you deserve better," he wrote.

Bangalore South MP, L S Tejasvi Surya, criticised the project, saying the tunnel road idea "is beset with problems" from the word go.

"The tunnel road access is going to be only for four-wheelers with a toll of Rs 600 per return journey. DPR was prepared at a cost of Rs 9.5 crore by a consultant who was previously blacklisted elsewhere. Even after this exorbitant cost, many parts of the DPR were directly copied from another report. Tunnel road is an unscientific solution for Bengaluru’s mobility issues & bound to fail at Rs 18,000 crore of the taxpayers' money. Further, the state government will bear an additional Rs 7,200 crore to cover the gap between revenue and expenditure of the unviable project," he wrote.