As all overground solutions to tackle traffic congestion have run into trouble, the government seems to be looking beneath for solutions. It is considering building road tunnels to ease gridlocks at four critical junctions in the city.
On Monday, Bengaluru development minister K J George met a delegation of experts from Bulgaria, who proposed tunnels from T Chowdaiah Road (near BDA head office) to Esteem mall; from Goraguntepalya, Tumakuru road to Rajkumar Samadhi along Outer Ring Road; from Nayandahalli junction to Majestic; and from Jalahalli Aiyappa temple to Air Force Station along Subroto Mukherjee Road.
A senior officer from the minister's office said the team of Bulgarian experts was asked to study the city's worst traffic junctions and explore the possibilities of constructing tunnels or elevated corridors.
"The project has not yet been commissioned. The tunnel is not the only option being discussed. They are considering elevated roads as well. As the government scrapped the steel flyover project, another project to ease traffic congestion is necessary. The discussions are in the preliminary stages," said the officer.
Road tunnels were first proposed by former Bengaluru development minister R Ashoka in 2010-11. The first was supposed to run beneath Avenue Road in Chickpet but the project didn't progress beyond discussions as the underground metro rail was planned along the same stretch.
If the government decides to follow through this time, Bengaluru will be among the few cities in the country to have road tunnels. Most road tunnels in India are on highways or in mountainous regions. On April 2, PM Narendra Modi opened India's longest tunnel road between Chennai and Nashri in J&K.
Bengaluru mayor G Padmavathi, who took part in the meeting on Monday, said she was not for public consultation. "There is a section of people who oppose any developmental work. I heard the experts speak. They are good and their infrastructure is better than ours. The same team has constructed tunnel roads in valleys of Turkey and Switzerland and I have seen them.All four roads where tunnels are proposed will be bi-directional," she said.
BDA, which was part of the discussions, will be the executing body if the project gets underway. A senior BDA official said public consultation would be done for the project if the government considered the proposal seriously after the Bulgarian committee submits the pre-feasibility report.
"We have to ensure there is minimum disruption of traffic while implementing the project. We do not want to rush into it. We will hold public consultations in two weeks to gauge people's opinions," the officer said.
There is already opposition from those who stood against the steel flyover. Architect Naresh Narasimhan from Citizens for Bengaluru said it was necessary to create mass transport networks and not build more roads. "Only 10% of Bengalureans travel by car and it is not ideal to build more roads. Instead, the government should consider building pedestrian-friendly footpaths and make mass transport systems more efficient," he said.
Only four months for construction?
Mayor G Padmavathi said the road tunnels can be built within four months. When asked why the government was considering more roads instead of extending the metro, she said the latter was not viable, considering time and financial constraints. "The experts said during the meeting that they can construct tunnel roads in three or four months. The time and money for these projects is less than that required by the metro. Over 60 lakh vehicles ply on city roads every day and we have to strengthen infrastructure," she said.
On Monday, Bengaluru development minister K J George met a delegation of experts from Bulgaria, who proposed tunnels from T Chowdaiah Road (near BDA head office) to Esteem mall; from Goraguntepalya, Tumakuru road to Rajkumar Samadhi along Outer Ring Road; from Nayandahalli junction to Majestic; and from Jalahalli Aiyappa temple to Air Force Station along Subroto Mukherjee Road.
A senior officer from the minister's office said the team of Bulgarian experts was asked to study the city's worst traffic junctions and explore the possibilities of constructing tunnels or elevated corridors.
"The project has not yet been commissioned. The tunnel is not the only option being discussed. They are considering elevated roads as well. As the government scrapped the steel flyover project, another project to ease traffic congestion is necessary. The discussions are in the preliminary stages," said the officer.
Road tunnels were first proposed by former Bengaluru development minister R Ashoka in 2010-11. The first was supposed to run beneath Avenue Road in Chickpet but the project didn't progress beyond discussions as the underground metro rail was planned along the same stretch.
If the government decides to follow through this time, Bengaluru will be among the few cities in the country to have road tunnels. Most road tunnels in India are on highways or in mountainous regions. On April 2, PM Narendra Modi opened India's longest tunnel road between Chennai and Nashri in J&K.
Bengaluru mayor G Padmavathi, who took part in the meeting on Monday, said she was not for public consultation. "There is a section of people who oppose any developmental work. I heard the experts speak. They are good and their infrastructure is better than ours. The same team has constructed tunnel roads in valleys of Turkey and Switzerland and I have seen them.All four roads where tunnels are proposed will be bi-directional," she said.
BDA, which was part of the discussions, will be the executing body if the project gets underway. A senior BDA official said public consultation would be done for the project if the government considered the proposal seriously after the Bulgarian committee submits the pre-feasibility report.
"We have to ensure there is minimum disruption of traffic while implementing the project. We do not want to rush into it. We will hold public consultations in two weeks to gauge people's opinions," the officer said.
There is already opposition from those who stood against the steel flyover. Architect Naresh Narasimhan from Citizens for Bengaluru said it was necessary to create mass transport networks and not build more roads. "Only 10% of Bengalureans travel by car and it is not ideal to build more roads. Instead, the government should consider building pedestrian-friendly footpaths and make mass transport systems more efficient," he said.
Only four months for construction?
Mayor G Padmavathi said the road tunnels can be built within four months. When asked why the government was considering more roads instead of extending the metro, she said the latter was not viable, considering time and financial constraints. "The experts said during the meeting that they can construct tunnel roads in three or four months. The time and money for these projects is less than that required by the metro. Over 60 lakh vehicles ply on city roads every day and we have to strengthen infrastructure," she said.