After DK Shivakumar's tunnel road, HD Kumaraswamy proposes underground roads in Bengaluru
BENGALURU: While Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has proposed the tunnel road from Hebbal to Silk Board Junction, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy has pitched for an Ultra-Modern Underground Road Network (UMURN) to decongest the city.
On Tuesday, Kumaraswmay met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari at the latter's residence in New Delhi and held extensive consultations on key infrastructure projects for Karnataka, especially the development of the Peripheral Ring Road and UMURN for Bengaluru city.
During the meeting, Kumaraswamy floated the idea of UMURN, to which Gadkari reportedly responded positively. Ironically, Kumaraswamy had opposed the tunnel road proposed by Shivakumar, but is now pitching for similar project for Bengaluru city.
In a letter addressed to Gadkari, Kumaraswamy stated that the construction of an integrated underground road network connecting key zones of the city would be a transformative infrastructure and it would serve as the backbone of Bengaluru's future urban mobility, significantly easing current bottlenecks, improving connectivity and supporting long-term sustainable growth.
Kumaraswamy made the proposal at a time when Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE) is gearing up to float tenders for the Rs. 42,000 crore tunnel road project to connect South to North and East to West parts of Bengaluru. Highlighting that Bengaluru is growing rapidly and attracting people from across the country for jobs and livelihoods, Kumaraswamy explained how this has led to increasing population density and traffic congestion. He emphasised that the construction of a modern underground road network and Peripheral Ring Road is essential for the city.
These projects, which aim to connect key zones across the city, will serve as permanent solutions to the traffic crisis, especially in the city centre. This transformative infrastructure will play a major role in Bengaluru's future development and contribute to long-term sustainable urban growth, he explained.
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