Bengaluru's Traffic Nightmare: 22-km East-West Tunnel Project Finally Moves To Tendering Stage Next

Bengaluru’s proposed 22-km East-West Tunnel Road, planned between K.R. Puram and Nayandahalli, is set to move to the tendering stage soon, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said after a review of B-SMILE works in the city on Monday.

The project is being positioned as part of a wider road mobility plan, rather than a standalone attempt to reduce congestion. The government’s approach includes tunnel roads, elevated corridors, metro expansion, bus connectivity and improvements to major surface roads that feed public transport networks.

Gowda said Bengaluru needed layered solutions because traffic pressure was no longer limited to a few junctions or peak-hour stretches. With the city’s vehicle population estimated at 1.2 crore, he said road demand would continue even as the metro network expands.

East-West Tunnel Road to link K.R. Puram and Nayandahalli

The East-West Tunnel Road is one of the most closely watched proposals under Bengaluru’s new mobility push. The 22-km corridor is expected to connect K.R. Puram in the east with Nayandahalli in the west, creating an underground alternative across a heavily burdened urban axis.

While detailed alignment, station-like access points, cost and implementation timelines are yet to be formally placed in the public domain, the move to float tenders will mark a key step. Tunnel road projects usually require extensive geological studies, traffic modelling, utility mapping and safety planning before construction begins.

The Minister said tunnel roads alone would not solve congestion if they simply move bottlenecks from one point to another. The government, he said, was looking at integrated solutions in which tunnel roads, elevated stretches and surface-level improvements work together.

“The solution to Bengaluru's traffic congestion is comprehensive plans, including metro networks and tunnel roads, overlapped by elevated corridors,” Gowda told reporters after the review meeting with Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited officials.

75 km of elevated corridor tenders expected soon

Alongside the tunnel road project, the government is preparing to invite tenders for 75 km of elevated corridor works. This is half of the broader 150-km elevated corridor target identified for Bengaluru. Each elevated stretch is expected to range from 2 km to 15 km.

Gowda said elevated roads would be prioritised where they can help separate long-distance through-traffic from local traffic. Such corridors are generally planned to reduce pressure on busy junctions and high-density roads, though their effectiveness depends on entry and exit design.

The Minister also said elevated corridors longer than 10 km would be tolled. He clarified that existing surface roads would remain available to the public, and the toll would apply only to those choosing faster elevated options.

“The primary roads will still be open. That is the public's right. We are not stopping them from using those roads, but if one needs to go faster, tolls have to be paid. This is just to ease traffic for those who need it,” he said.

The projects are expected to involve private funding, with the government providing viability gap funding where required. Such a model is commonly used when infrastructure projects are considered socially necessary but may not generate enough direct revenue to attract private investment on their own.

Why Bengaluru is looking beyond flyovers

Bengaluru has often relied on flyovers, underpasses and road widening to manage congestion. But these measures have delivered mixed results, especially where traffic volumes rise quickly after a new road link opens. Transport planners describe this as induced demand, where additional road capacity attracts more vehicles over time.

Gowda acknowledged that building only flyovers or only tunnels would not offer a durable answer. He said current congestion points and future travel demand must be studied together before projects are taken up. He described the proposed tunnel and elevated corridor plans as expert and research-backed solutions.

The government is also looking at improvements to major roads, high-density corridors and the Outer Ring Road network. These corridors carry a large share of daily commuting traffic, including trips to technology hubs, industrial clusters, residential layouts and inter-city access roads.

For commuters, the key issue will be how the new road projects connect with metro stations, bus routes and last-mile transport. Without strong integration, faster corridors may benefit only a section of road users while local congestion continues near entry points, exits and transit hubs.

Outer Ring Road redevelopment under consideration

The Minister said discussions were also underway on redeveloping the Outer Ring Road, one of Bengaluru’s most important traffic corridors. The ORR serves major IT areas and connects several parts of the city, making any construction activity on it highly disruptive.

Gowda said there was no hesitation in moving ahead with the redevelopment plan, but timing was being assessed carefully. Metro construction is already in progress on key stretches, and simultaneous road redevelopment could worsen disruption for daily commuters, particularly in the IT corridor.

“If both are taken up simultaneously, people will face a lot of inconvenience because of the high daily traffic, especially in the IT corridors,” he said, explaining why the sequencing of projects would matter as much as the projects themselves.

The latest review signals that Bengaluru’s road infrastructure plans are moving towards implementation, but the impact will depend on design, phasing and coordination with public transport. For a city where road space is already under severe pressure, the challenge is not just building more corridors, but ensuring they reduce congestion without creating new choke points.