The Karnataka Cabinet has approved the construction of a short twin-tunnel road and an elevated corridor between the Hebbal flyover and Mekhri Circle for Rs 2,215 crore “to manage local vehicular traffic” on the congested section which provides connectivity to the Bengaluru airport.
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A meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday approved the construction of the short twin-tunnel road and elevated corridor with up and down ramps following a directive by Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar in May this year after the civic authorities suggested it.
The project will be implemented by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA). After it was determined that no further widening of the road, which is part of the National Highway (NH), would be possible, it was decided that the project would also utilise land in the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus, given the availability of land around the Hebbal Lake.
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The short tunnel road project will involve the construction of an underpass in the middle of Bellary Road at Mekhri Circle without disturbing the movement of vehicles, and the construction of an underground route in the GKVK campus along with the construction of a road on either side of Hebbal Lake.
“In this project, most of the route covers areas falling under the government and the land acquisition cost is planned to be limited to Rs 25 crore,” the Cabinet was informed.
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“Noting that the expansion of existing roads is extremely difficult due to the unavailability of land and complications in the land acquisition process, the state government announced its intention to solve the traffic congestion problem in Bengaluru by constructing a tunnel in its budget speech for 2024-25,” a Cabinet note said on Thursday.
While work for widening the road on the section has been undertaken, the widening of a bridge from Esteem Mall to Hebbal cannot be completed, and Shivakumar gave instructions “during the site inspection on 24.05.2025 to review the proposal in the long term to permanently reduce the congestion,” the Cabinet note stated.
The Cabinet was informed that a “Feasibility Report” prepared by a private consultant had opined that tunnel roads and flyovers on roads connecting the heart of the city to the outskirts could ease congestion.
While a 17-km tunnel road connecting North and South Bengaluru was proposed, the traffic police expressed the view that “it is appropriate to construct an additional Short Transitory Length Underground Underpass” from Hebbal flyover Junction to GKVK Veterinary College for allowing the movement of all types of vehicles, including two wheelers.