In a blow to the Karnataka authorities and Deputy Chief Minister D.Okay. Shivakumar’s formidable tunnel highway challenge in Bengaluru, the knowledgeable committee appointed by the Karnataka City Growth Division to evaluate the Detailed Challenge Report (DPR) has mentioned that DPR had been ready in a rush, counting on solely 4 soil check factors for planning the tunnel, far ‘too few’ for a challenge of this scale.
It additionally echoed considerations raised across the proposed challenge’s affect on one of many metropolis’s largest lung areas, the Lalbagh Botanical Backyard.
“Positioning one of the tunnel shafts within Lalbagh Botanical Garden needs to be re-examined because of environmental sensitivity,” it really useful..
The committee, headed by Siddanagouda Hegaraddi, Govt Director (Civil), Bangalore Metro Rail Company Restricted (BMRCL), highlighted main shortcomings in site visitors research too.
Why tunnel highway when metro will serve similar hall
The knowledgeable panel highlighted that the proposed tunnel runs nearly parallel to the deliberate Namma Metro line. The report famous that each the initiatives are designed to serve the identical north-south hall of Bengaluru, and that with out clear information on how many individuals will shift from non-public automobiles to metro or buses within the coming years, the justification for such a expensive challenge can’t be verified.
“The general apprehension of stakeholders is that the road tunnel project on the proposed alignment will become redundant as it is running almost parallel with the proposed metro line. This apprehension could not be addressed in the absence of breakup of peak hour traffic data with modal share and projected peak hour traffic data,” the committee noticed.
With out correct site visitors information, lane necessities, toll projections, and congestion estimates stay unrealistic. “The DPR documents should clearly illustrate the justification to overcome such apprehensions of the stakeholders with adequate data and analysis,” the report really useful.
Weak site visitors research, lack major information
Site visitors research have been flagged as ‘particularly weak’ by the government-appointed knowledgeable panel. The committee famous that the DPR lacked major information, relying as an alternative on reconnaissance surveys and assumptions with no subject surveys carried out. No unique measurements have been taken to assist lane and alignment suggestions. Key particulars comparable to mode-wise distribution of commuters, projected peak-hour site visitors, and anticipated modal shifts to BMTC buses, metro, and suburban rail have been lacking.
Noting that the evaluation primarily based on Degree of Service, or LoS (ranking of how easy or congested site visitors is), to reach at lane configuration requirement couldn’t be verified, the committee really useful: “The traffic projections to arrive at the lane requirements should be based on details in terms of Passenger Car Unit, or PCUs (a way to count different vehicles on the road as if they were all cars to calculate total traffic flow), duly taking into account the modal share and estimated modal shift due to other competing modes of transport, such as BMTC, Namma Metro lines, and suburban rail, instead of LoS basis.”
Different technical points included entry and exit ramps and intermediate lane configuration. Whereas the committee acknowledged that ‘efforts have been made to locate the entry/exit ramps in the vicinity of existing signal-controlled junctions to avoid traffic conflicts’, it warned that these ramps might trigger congestion attributable to merging site visitors rising from tunnel and floor site visitors. Intermediate lane configurations at Palace Floor and Mehkri Circle have been mentioned to be inadequate, with the committee recommending that ‘a minimum of two-lane configurations should be provided for entry and exit ramps’.
Mismatch of ‘horizon year, lane configuration’
The committee identified that the DPR thought-about a ‘horizon year’ (future yr for which site visitors projections are made) of 2041, which is simply 10 years after the challenge’s anticipated completion, as an alternative of the usual 25-year interval required for such infrastructure initiatives. Primarily based on the accessible site visitors information, demand for the yr 2041 would justify solely 2+2 lanes with paved shoulders. Nevertheless, the DPR proposes a 3+3 lane configuration, which meets the 25-year projection. The committee mentioned this mismatch signifies that both the horizon yr must be corrected to 25 years, or the lane configuration wants modification.
Tunnel highway lacks strategic, transport & environmental case: Mobility Knowledgeable
In response to a comparative evaluation by mobility knowledgeable Sathya Arikutharam, who analysed the studies by the Directorate of City Land Transport (DULT) and that by the knowledgeable committee to evaluate the DPR, each the committees independently discovered that the Tunnel Street Challenge lacks a strategic, transport, and environmental case.
In his evaluation, Mr. Arikutharam identified that DULT’s formal evaluate in November 2024 had already warned that the proposed North–South Tunnel Street was not aligned with the town’s Complete Mobility Plan (CMP) or Local weather Motion Plan. It had urged that the erstwhile BBMP rethink the challenge and discover solely quick tunnel segments wherever vital, however the civic physique ignored these suggestions. As a substitute, BBMP went forward and commissioned the DPR even earlier than the evaluate course of by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) was accomplished.
Even on the technical aspect, each studies discovered the site visitors examine to be basically flawed.
Mr. Arikutharam notes that neither the feasibility examine nor the DPR included major site visitors information, which means no subject surveys or real-time site visitors counts have been carried out.
