Overview
- The Institution of Engineers (India) issued an unequivocal assessment calling a multi-highway tunnel network the city’s most practical long-term fix for congestion.
- Engineers cited 1.45 crore registered vehicles plus 60 lakh floating vehicles and about 3,500 new additions daily, arguing for multi-layered mobility solutions.
- The panel said linking six major highways underground could shift up to 25 lakh vehicles off surface roads, projecting sharp cuts to travel time, emissions and fuel use.
- A Nelamangala–Hosur tunnel was cited as a nine‑minute run from nearly two hours today, with a proposed toll of roughly Rs 20 per km and a build cost near ₹446 crore per km via PPP using shield TBMs.
- Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya rejected the report as political, questioned capacity versus metro benchmarks, flagged geology and hydrology risks including Lalbagh rock, and sought independent reviews while disputing costs against a DPR figure above ₹1,000 crore per km.