Govt must rethink tunnel road project

Such projects must not be undertaken without public consultation and consent

The Karnataka cabinet recently approved the construction of a tunnel road in Bengaluru connecting Hebbal to Silk Board Junction, ostensibly to ease the traffic congestion on this route. Is this a viable solution? Aren’t there more effective alternatives? A consultant appointed by the government to conduct a feasibility study had recommended two tunnel roads, one from Hebbal to Silk Board Junction, with interchanges at Mekhri Circle, Chalukya Circle and Lalbagh; and a second one from Old Madras Road to Gaali Anjaneya Temple on Mysuru Road, with interchanges at K R Puram, Old Madras Road, Halasuru, Richmond Circle, Hudson Circle, and Town Hall. The Hebbal to Silk Board Junction tunnel is to be taken up first on a ‘pilot’ basis, with a twin-tube single-level tunnel design.   

As usual, there has been little public consultation on this infrastructure project, and that’s reason enough for the government to put it on hold and undertake proper consultations. Among the concerns raised about the project is that about the exorbitant cost. The 18.5-km tunnel road is estimated to cost Rs 12,690 crore. That is about Rs 685 crore per km! Which other ‘pilot’ project costs that much? Why does it cost so much, given the government’s claim that it will not involve much land acquisition, which is a significant part of the cost in linear infrastructure projects? The cost mentioned is the initial estimate. What will be the final cost, given the inevitable delays and cost overruns it will suffer? But even more importantly, who will benefit from this expensive tunnel road? What will be the traffic throughput? Why this tunnel road when Namma Metro’s blue line is being built from Silk Board to Hebbal and onward to the airport? 

By now, it is well known from Bengaluru’s own experience and from that of cities around the world that no amount of building new roads, flyovers, underpasses and tunnels will ever solve cities’ traffic problem, because the more the space made for private transport, the more private vehicles will mushroom onto the roads. This is the wicked problem of infrastructure.     

The policy of any sensible government should be to build and incentivise public transport and dis-incentivise the use of private vehicles. It must spend the proposed Rs 13,000 crore on more urgent works that will pay both immediate and long-term dividends – like repairing existing roads that have become potholed death-traps for commuters, strengthening the metro network and its first and last-mile connectivity, speeding up the suburban rail project, and augmenting BMTC services. Building a tunnel road without first getting these basics right or without considering more viable options is to indulge in grandiose projects and the attendant corruption and favouritism. Projects of this magnitude should not be undertaken on the mere whims of those in power. They must be done only after public consultations and the consent of the people. The cabinet must reconsider its approval and put the tunnel road idea on hold.