Tunnel To Ease Key Bengaluru Bottleneck Gets Nod, Draws Flak From BJP

Eight years after the controversial steel flyover project was scrapped following opposition and environmental concerns, the Karnataka cabinet has cleared a fresh proposal to address the persistent traffic congestion between Hebbal Junction and Mekhri Circle in north Bengaluru.

The cabinet on Thursday granted administrative approval for the construction of a three-lane twin tunnel using the cut-and-cover method along this busy stretch, which is one of Bengaluru's most notorious chokepoints. The project, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,215 crore, also includes an elevated corridor with a down ramp to streamline vehicle movement in and out of the junction.

The plan is designed to improve traffic flow at Hebbal, a key gateway connecting the city to Kempegowda International Airport and northern Bengaluru. Detailed project timelines and implementation schedules are expected to be released soon.

The BJP, on Friday, however, accused the state government of pursuing expensive and ineffective solutions to Bengaluru's traffic issues.

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya said the Karnataka government is "obsessed with building tunnels despite their exorbitant costs and limited impact on easing congestion". He alleged that, under the Congress administration, "urban planning and development has become a budget-maximisation exercise marked by duplication of efforts and lack of coordination".

Citing internal objections from the Finance Department, Surya said the Cabinet moved forward with the project even though several concerns had been flagged, including a surface road alternative that he claimed would cost just one-tenth of the proposed tunnel. He also pointed to integration conflicts between the planned north-south tunnel and the new short tunnel, ambiguity in the funding mechanism, and a lack of expert-backed evidence supporting the tunnel as the best solution.

"Yet, the Siddaramaiah government is pushing ahead," Surya said, calling the decision "arbitrary" and arguing that governance under the Congress has become "unpredictable, lacking transparency and accountability".