Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the Bengaluru-Mysuru section of the Chennai Expressway would be ready by next month reducing the travel time between the two cities to 70 minutes.

The Bengaluru to Chennai Expressway being constructed at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore would be ready by March 2024, the minister said after an inspection of the highway project on Thursday.

“By February 2023, the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway Project will be completed. I saw some work pending on the stretch. We will invite either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or President Droupadi Murmu,” Gadkari told journalists.

The Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor is a 10-lane project wherein four lanes – two lanes on either sides – have been proposd for the villages and towns attached to the highway while six lanes would lead directly to Mysuru from Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru-Mysuru project is divided into two parts – one from Bengaluru to Nidaghatta and another from Nidaghatta to Mysuru, the minister explained.

“Once the project is over, travel time from Bengaluru to Mysuru would be only 70 minutes,” he said.

“Now it is up to the state government to develop cities and  industrial cluster to decongest Bengaluru along this route,” the minister said.

According to him, this highway would give access to Kodagu in Karnataka, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Regarding the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, Mr Gadkari said the 285.3-km four-lane project would help save travel time. This would also help avoid delay in passing through major towns and congested areas, he explained.

“By making this road we will reduce the logistic costs. Already, 231 km of construction is underway. By March 2024, we want to complete this project,” he added.

The Union Minister, who conducted an aerial survey of the highways, said the Ministry is also working on the Bengaluru Satellite Ring Road at an estimated cost of Rs 17,000 crore under the Bharatmala project to decongest Bengaluru.

Mr Gadkari said the project covers 288 km of which 243 km is in Karnataka and 45 km in Tamil Nadu.

“We are linking this satellite ring road with Pune-Bengaluru and eventually we will connect the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Once completed, the journey from Bengaluru to Mumbai will be just six-and-a-half hours to 7 hours,” he added.

A logistic park has also been planned in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore, said the Minister.

“I noticed during the aerial inspection that the container depots are in the city. I will discuss with the Chief Minister if he can bring container and logistic parks together,” Mr Gadkari said.

All the urban areas of Bengaluru such as Hoskote, Devanahalli, Doddaballapura, Ramanagar, Kanakapura and Anekal in Karnataka and Hosur in Tamil Nadu would be connected with the ring road.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) would also take up the deepening of lakes as part of water conservation projects, Mr Gadkari said.

Land acquisition is a major challenge before the NHAI due to high land value, he pointed out.