Bengaluru’s tunnel road and double-decker road plan: The perfect Braesse’s paradox?
Urban development projects often spark debates, especially when they appear to conflict with existing solutions or deviate from established planning principles. In Bengaluru, two high-profile proposals — the tunnel road and the double decker road beneath the metro line — have become the focus of intense scrutiny.
When examined through the lens of Braesse’s Paradox and informed by lessons from other cities and past projects, these initiatives highlight the contradictions that can arise when cities, in their effort to resolve infrastructure issues, inadvertently worsen the very problems they set out to address.
What is Braesse’s paradox? Named after German engineer Karl Braesse, It refers to a counterintuitive phenomenon in urban transport planning where increasing road capacity to alleviate congestion can worsen the situation.
Essentially, adding more lanes or roads attracts more cars, leading to induced demand. Rather than easing congestion, these additional roads often attract even more traffic, ultimately resulting in the same or even worse levels of congestion over time.
This paradox is particularly significant for cities like Bengaluru, where traffic congestion has become a critical issue. According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2024, Bengaluru is ranked as the third slowest city globally. As per the Index, the average travel time per 10 kilometres is 34 minutes 10 seconds, just 23 seconds behind Kolkata — the worst traffic congested city in Asia (Kolkata) at 38 per cent congestion level.
This indicates that the people lost 117 hours on the road due to traffic this year. The city’s growing population and rising vehicle numbers have contributed to gridlocks on key roads.
In Bengaluru, daily commuters often face frustratingly long hours on the road. The city’s road network is under immense pressure, with many major roads becoming heavily congested during peak hours.
Areas with a high concentration of tech parks, such as Whitefield and Electronic City, also face severe congestion due to the sheer volume of vehicles traveling to and from these locations. The lack of seamless connectivity between different parts of the city further exacerbates the problem.
While building more roads, flyovers and tunnels may seem like an immediate solution, this approach can often exacerbate the problem by encouraging even more people to drive.
In Bengaluru’s case, Braesse’s paradox is evident in its large-scale road expansion projects, such as the tunnel road and double-decker road proposals. These initiatives aim to increase road capacity and reduce congestion, yet they risk attracting even more traffic, ultimately diminishing the effectiveness of these solutions.
Instead of prioritising road expansions, Bengaluru needs to rethink its urban mobility strategy. The real solution lies in improving the public transportation system, enhancing last-mile connectivity and promoting sustainable modes of transport like walking, cycling and public transit.
By understanding and addressing Braesse’s paradox, the city can avoid repeating past mistakes and work toward creating a more sustainable, efficient and livable urban environment.
Tunnel road proposal: A step backward?
The tunnel road proposal in Bengaluru has attracted considerable attention due to its bold approach to addressing the city’s traffic woes. Proponents argue that tunnels would reduce surface-level congestion in densely populated areas. However, critics point out several issues that align with Braesse’s paradox.
While the tunnel may promise to alleviate congestion by diverting traffic, it risks attracting more vehicles to the route. The very act of increasing road capacity — by building tunnels — could, in the long run, encourage more cars and worsen congestion. Instead of eliminating traffic bottlenecks, the project might merely shift them to a different area.
Moreover, the high cost of the tunnel project, coupled with a lack of a thorough feasibility study, raises concerns. The funds spent on this infrastructure could potentially be better allocated to public transportation solutions, such as expanding the metro, or enhancing pedestrian infrastructure to encourage non-motorised travel.
Double-decker road below metro: A misstep in urban mobility?
The double-decker road proposal beneath Bengaluru’s metro line is another example of urban planning that appears to misinterpret the city’s true needs. While large infrastructure projects like this may seem like quick fixes, they often result in unforeseen long-term consequences.
At first glance, the double-decker road might appear to be a clever solution to reduce congestion. However, it could be another instance of Braesse’s Paradox. In a city like Bengaluru, where the metro system is still expanding and public transport ridership is gradually increasing, a high-capacity road could undermine efforts to boost metro use. More cars on the road might detract from the goal of reducing dependency on private vehicles, ultimately making the metro less attractive to commuters.
The planned land acquisition for this project also has serious social and practical implications. Large-scale land acquisition, especially in already congested areas, often leads to the displacement of communities and increases costs for taxpayers. The rushed design of these roads, without comprehensive feasibility studies or long-term traffic impact analyses, further fuels skepticism around the project.
Need for holistic approach
Both the tunnel road and double-decker road proposals share a common flaw: They fail to address the root cause of Bengaluru’s traffic problems — unsustainable urban growth and an over-reliance on private vehicles.
Rather than simply increasing road capacity, the focus should shift to improving the public transportation system, creating more pedestrian-friendly spaces, and designing the city in a way that minimises the need for long commutes.
These projects should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a broader, more holistic urban mobility strategy. The metro system should serve as the backbone of Bengaluru’s transportation network, connecting underserved areas and offering a sustainable, efficient alternative to car travel.
In this context, adding roads beneath the metro or creating tunnels through the city could ultimately hinder efforts to reduce traffic congestion and promote sustainable mobility.
Instead, Bengaluru’s future development should emphasise integrating the metro with cycling infrastructure, improving last-mile connectivity, and implementing urban planning that prioritises accessibility over sheer road capacity. We need to create a city where public transport, cycling and walking take precedence over car-centric infrastructure.
The tunnel road and double-decker road proposals in Bengaluru highlight the challenge faced by many rapidly growing cities: How to address traffic congestion without making the situation worse. Viewed through the lens of Braesse’s Paradox, these projects illustrate how well-intentioned but misguided infrastructure efforts can lead to more problems than solutions.
Rather than following the traditional route of expanding road capacity and hoping for better traffic flow, Bengaluru’s government and urban planners must focus on comprehensive, long-term solutions that prioritise sustainable mobility, public transportation and urban designs that encourage fewer cars on the road. By doing so, Bengaluru can avoid the pitfalls of Braesse’s paradox and build a more livable, efficient and sustainable city for the future.