Bengaluru’s Hebbal–Mekhri Circle elevated corridor construction will not lead to a complete shutdown of vehicle movement on the main road, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said during an inspection of the project near Mekhri Circle on November 9. He said temporary restrictions would apply only to some goods vehicles during designated hours, while other traffic would continue to move.
Shivakumar said alternative roads were being developed to reduce disruption caused by the construction. The work is expected to cost about Rs 9 crore, and the Bangalore Development Authority is preparing to improve connecting roads in the surrounding areas, according to his statement reported by Vijay Karnataka.
The inspection also covered the proposed elevated corridor and a small tunnel route intended to address congestion near Hebbal. Shivakumar said the two would be separate projects, with the tunnel and elevated road designed to operate as connected but distinct parts of the traffic system. In the proposed arrangement, vehicles could emerge from the tunnel and continue through the elevated road.
He clarified that the tunnel currently under discussion is not the previously discussed 16-kilometre tunnel road. Instead, it is a shorter tunnel planned around the congestion that develops in the Hebbal area. Shivakumar said the objective was to prevent traffic from easing at one location only to build up again further along the route.
The deputy chief minister said the city would need alternative transport corridors because expanding existing roads by removing buildings was not always possible. He said the government was considering a combination of elevated roads and underground routes to improve traffic movement. He also said a request had been made to the Defence Ministry for land near Mekhri Circle. If the land is made available, he said, it could support a rotary-circle and circular traffic arrangement, with smoother movement for vehicles turning left and right.
Shivakumar said the government was also examining land and engineering conditions along the proposed tunnel route. Referring to an aerial inspection, he said a large depression near Lalbagh and differences between areas with rock and the planned tunnel exit had prompted officials to consider alternative arrangements to avoid construction-related problems.
The statements come as the state government faces opposition criticism over its infrastructure projects. Shivakumar defended the pace of development work and said objections had been raised against both the tunnel and elevated corridor proposals. He did not announce a completion date for the Mekhri Circle–Hebbal corridor or the shorter tunnel. For now, the immediate traffic-management plan involves keeping the main road open, restricting selected goods vehicles at specified times and developing alternative connecting roads through the BDA.
