Bengaluru airport’s new tunnel to cut 30 minutes of travel time from Whitefield: All you need to know
The tunnel is part of the Bangalore International Airport Limited’s ₹16,500 crore expansion plan to support Bengaluru’s rapidly growing aviation sector.
Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is set to benefit from a new infrastructure project—the Eastern Connectivity Tunnel. This tunnel will directly connect the eastern parts of the city, including Whitefield, Sarjapur, and Mahadevapura, to the airport, aiming to reduce travel times by approximately 30 minute.
According to The Indian Express, the move is part of the Bangalore International Airport Limited’s (BIAL) ₹16,500 crore expansion plan to support Bengaluru’s rapidly growing aviation sector.
The tunnel is designed to bypass the heavily congested Hebbal flyover, providing an alternative route from the eastern state highway. By diverting nearly 30 per cent of airport-bound traffic, it will ease congestion and improve traffic flow across the city, the report added.
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Work set to begin this year
Construction of the Eastern Connectivity Tunnel is set to begin this year and is expected to be completed in three years.
As reported by Indian Express, BIAL’s CEO, Hari Marar, highlighted that the tunnel’s design will improve overall traffic flow and provide a reliable route for airport-bound passengers.
In addition to the tunnel, BIAL is working on expanding airport capacity with two new metro stations, taxiway upgrades, and the development of Terminal 3 to accommodate growing passenger traffic. This new infrastructure comes as KIA surpasses earlier projections, with passenger numbers expected to reach 85 million annually by 2030-32.
On the other hand, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar recently said that the work for the underground tunnel road in Bengaluru will begin by the first half of 2025. He said that this most anticipated project will decongest Bengaluru and ease vehicular movement.
“Even after the metro operations, the traffic did not significantly decline. The underground tunnel project will start in the first half of 2025. This project will solve all the problems of Bengaluru,” he added.
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