BENGALURU: The Bengaluru-Chennai Greenfield Expressway, which will reduce the road distance and commute time between the two metros is expected to cost Rs 17,930 crore, according to initial estimates.
The 262-kilometre (km) highway will be eight-lane for a distance of 240 km, with the remainder being an elevated stretch of 22 km.
While the final date of completion of the project is yet to be completed, the Central government has already spent Rs 1,370 crore towards pre-construction activities.
The Expressway will pass through Kolar in Karnataka, Palamaner in Andhra Pradesh and Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, before reaching the State’s capital—Chennai highway.
The Bengaluru-Chennai industrial corridor of the Central government is also expected to come up along the highway.
Details regarding the total cost and expenditure made for the project were revealed recently in the ongoing winter session of the Lok Sabha, for a question by MPs DK Suresh and Nalin Kumar Kateel.
While the current distance between the two cities through Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu is around 345 km, the new road — when complete — will reduce the distance by 83 km. With vehicles allowed to ply at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour in some lanes of the Expressway, it is also expected to reduce the commute time by more than an hour.
Currently, it takes between five and eight hours to travel from Bengaluru to Chennai by road.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which has estimated the tentative civil cost at Rs 17,930 crore, is yet to reveal the completion date of the project.