Tunnel roads a bad idea: Expert

Bengaluru: The concept of tunnel roads to ease traffic congestion is not new to rapidly growing Bengaluru and it was planned way back in 2007 from Hebbal to Minsk square stretching 7.1 km.

After the steel flyover project was shelved, Bengaluru development minister K.J. George is now keen on pushing the tunnel project in the same corridor.

In addition, four more such roads were planned in the Central Business District (CBD) in 2010-11. However, none of the tunnel projects took off due to the cost factor and with projects clashing with other infrastructure works like Namma Metro.

Dr Ashish Verma, mobility expert and associate professor, Centre for Infrastructure Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP), IISc, has said that if the tunnel road is for vehicles and not for metro, it will not be sustainable and not worth the investment.

If the tunnel is meant only for vehicular transport, it will only be shifting the congestion from one point to another and not eliminate it, he said.

Verma said the government must do an alternative analysis rather than taking solution specific objective decision. It has to focus on four parameters of urban transport policy.

It should analyse the amount of investment and person capacity added, amount of person capacity for extra corridor facility provided, increase or decrease on usage of fossil fuel and increase or decrease in air and noise pollution should be answered in an unbiased manner, he explained.

Verma said just because steel flyover could not be pushed following the environment impact assessment failure, this project cannot be pursued.

Any given day, metro is the better and sustainable connectivity to airport and other parts of the city to solve the congestion, he felt.

It may be recalled that when R. Ashok was transport minister five tunnel roads were proposed - Avenue Road (from City Market end to Mysore Bank end), Victoria Hospital to Palace Guttahalli via High Grounds police station, Kempegowda Bus Station to Mysore Road, Kempegowda Bus Station to Minerva Mill Circle via Okalipuram and Vellara Junction (Hosur road) to Coles park.

However, owing the construction cost and tunnels clashing with other infrastructure projects, these were shelved.