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NHAI to build Rs 51-crore tunnel-style service road on Bengaluru airport highway

NHAI's 6-metre-deep depressed service road on the Bengaluru airport highway is expected to be completed ahead of Aero India 2027.

3 min readBengaluruJan 28, 2026 05:24 PM IST

The NHAI project aims to separate local service road traffic from the main road (File photo for representational use).

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has recently invited bids to construct a depressed service road, an underpass built approximately six metres below the main road level, on the Bengaluru airport highway for Rs 51.27 crore, excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The project includes a 320-metre covered depressed service road, an 800-metre surface-level road, relocation of Indian Air Force (IAF) assets, and other allied works. The underpass will feature two lanes with paved shoulders, connecting the IAF station’s domestic area to its technical area while also linking the runway to Hunasamaranahalli Lake.

K B Jayakumar, project director at NHAI, Bengaluru, told The Indian Express that this stretch is currently the only section without a service road on the 22.12-km Hebbal-Trumpet section of National Highway 44 (formerly NH 7).

“There is an absence of service roads, which is causing many of the service road users to take the main carriage, leading to traffic congestion and accidents. We want to address that. It will help the commuters taking the service road by not entering the main way,” he said.

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The underpass will be significantly longer than any existing one in Bengaluru. An NHAI official said it would be built as a tunnel road using the cut-and-cover method.

“This construction technique involves excavating a trench from the surface, building the tunnel within it, and restoring the road through backfilling—distinct from the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) being used for the 16.75-km Silk Board junction-Hebbal tunnel road and underground metro lines,” the official said.

The NHAI will relocate IAF assets, including the entrance gate and compound wall, with approximately 200 metres of this work already completed. Bids will be opened on February 25, and the contract is expected to be awarded by the end of March.

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While the official project deadline is 18 months from the award date, NHAI aims to complete substantial work ahead of Aero India 2027, scheduled for February next year. No traffic diversions will be required during construction.

The NHAI has recently completed service roads at two locations on the airport highway: a one-kilometre stretch opposite Esteem Mall in Hebbal and a 1.1-km stretch at Jakkur, both approximately 10 metres wide.

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