BENGALURU: The Bengaluru-Chennai expressway stretch which is ready within the limits of Karnataka has been unofficially opened for traffic, and 1,600 to 2,000 vehicle users are already using it every day. Those using the toll-free 68km stretch between Hoskote and KGF (Bethamangala) exit it using the village road to reach Mulbagal and the Andhra Pradesh border. The remaining 3km stretch of the 71km expressway built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) within Karnataka is likely to be opened by the end of the year, along with the rest of the road outside the state. The alignment beyond Karnataka goes via Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu up to Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The total length of the four-lane road is 260km. The expressway allows a speed of 120 kmph.
An NHAI official stated, "Motorists are using the stretch from the Hoskote interchange, exiting at Bethamangala. We have put in all road safety measures. All types of vehicles are using the road. Till a notification is issued for the collection of the toll, we cannot restrict any category of vehicles. We've written to the headquarters for collection of tolls and farther directions are awaited."
For the Karnataka section, NHAI is likely to operate two toll plazas. After the Bengaluru-Mysuru access-controlled highway was commissioned, NHAI banned the entry of bikes, autorickshaws, and tractors onto the mainlines of the highway. These categories of vehicles are likely to be banned on the newly opened expressway too.
The Bengaluru-Chennai expressway is linked to the operational Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) from Dabaspet to Hoskote, which passes through Doddaballapur and Devanahalli. This allows people coming from Tumakuru Road and Bengaluru-Hyderabad Road to access the expressway. Recently, NHAI floated tenders for the construction of STRR from Dabaspet to the Tamil Nadu border, which lies on the western and southern outskirts of Bengaluru.
Despite the impressive infrastructure, the road construction faced challenges. The presence of the 2-meter water pipeline laid for the Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) Valley has hindered work at Kolathur (near Hoskote Cloverleaf), where there are plans to build a 480-metre ramp for motorists coming from the Kolar side using National Highway-75 and to construct an underpass for Kolathur villagers. NHAI has approached the minor irrigation department to study the feasibility of this underpass project.
"The construction of the underpass will help Kolathur villagers reach Bengaluru and Kolar," the NHAI official emphasized.
Looking forward, the Bengaluru-Chennai expressway is expected to drastically reduce travel time. Currently, motorists from Bengaluru experience difficulty accessing the highway, primarily due to severe traffic congestion on Old Madras Road with peak snarls around various points like SV Road Metro Station and Byappanahalli.
Considering the large traffic volume, there is now a proposal to widen the Bengaluru-Kolar highway from its current four lanes to ten lanes, featuring six lanes as the mainline and four lanes as service roads. An NHAI official stated, "With the growth of the city and urbanization on the outskirts, traffic volume has increased drastically. For example, over 90,000 vehicles cross the Hoskote toll gate every day. This has resulted in traffic congestion at several points beyond KR Pura, such as TC Palya and Battarahalli. There is also a proposal to widen the existing road from KR Pura up to the Andhra Pradesh border. This will also help provide seamless access to the Bengaluru-Chennai expressway."