PM Modi inaugurated Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway on Sunday in poll-bound Karnataka. The 118-km expressway will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from around 3 hours to about 75 minutes.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from around 3 hours to about 75 minutes.
The expressway was built for Rs 8,480 crore by NHAI under Hybrid Annuity Model. The highway project comes in two packages: Bengaluru – Nidaghatta (58 km) and Nidaghatta – Mysuru (61 km)
The expressway comes with nine major bridges, 42 minor bridges, 64 underpasses, 11 overpasses, and four Rail Over Bridges. It consists of five bypasses around Bidadi, Ramanagara-Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna to lessen traffic congestion.
The expressway comes as a boon for Bengaluru residents as they can plan for a weekend getaway to places like Ooty, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Coorg and Kannur in a shorter period of time. It will also boost tourism in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
NHAI said that the fee collected for a single journey on Bengaluru-Nidaghatta varies from Rs 135 to Rs 880 on the basis of different vehicles.
NHAI is planning to ban two-wheelers and slow-moving vehicles like three-wheelers from the expressway to prevent accidents as they're more vulnerable.
Amid the time saving factor of the expressway, several complaints have come up on major traffic bottlenecks at entry/exit points at Bengaluru (in places like Kumbalgodu) and Mysuru (Outer Ring Road near Manipal hospital junction)
The expressway is said to create a bad dent on the livelihoods of traders/artisans in areas such as Maddur and Bidadi (food joints) and Channapatna (traditional toy industry), among others, as it does not go via these towns
The Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway has proved to be a boon for homebuyers. Bengaluru Metro will be extended up to Challaghatta on Mysuru Road by June 2023