BENGALURU: Motorists, be prepared. Even as the much-awaited Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Corridor is expected to be completed in October 2022, it is not going to be without a price. Though the travel time between the two cities will be reduced to 75 minutes from the existing three hours, motorists will have to pay toll fee between Rs 200 and Rs 250 at two places.
The corridor will have a toll gate at Kanaminike near Kumbalgodu near Bengaluru and another at Gananguru near Srirangapattana. As per the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines, there has to be a toll for every 60 km and the average fee is Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 per km. Toll fee is decided on the basis of the number of lanes, number of bridges and underpasses on the highway. The corridor has nine major bridges, 44 minor bridges, four rail overbridges.
Speaking to TNIE, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha said the toll fee will be between Rs 200 to Rs 250. “On the positive note, one can cover the distance in 75 minutes and hence save time. This will also give a boost to industrial activities in Mysuru, taking some burden off Bengaluru,’’ he said.
He however said the exact toll fee will be fixed only after the highway is open. As per the earlier schedule, road from Bengaluru to Nidaghatta near Maddur was to be opened in July and the remaining in October. “The entire stretch will be opened in October,’’ he added. The distance between the state capital and Mysuru is around 140 km.
In March 2014, the Union Ministry of Surface Transport had announced that some roads across the country will be upgraded to NHs and Bengaluru-Mysuru road was one of them. The NHAI is converting the highway (NH 275) into 10 lanes, including a six-lane expressway. The 117 km highway stretches from NICE entrance in Bengaluru to Ring Road Junction in Mysuru. The estimated cost of the project in 2014 was around Rs 4,100 crore which later doubled.