BENGALURU: The long-pending Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) project is likely to get approval from the Union Cabinet soon. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has assured Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy that the project would soon receive cabinet approval and be sanctioned.
The former Karnataka chief minister met Gadkari at his Parliament office in New Delhi to discuss the project in detail. During the meet, Gadkari informed Kumaraswamy that the project has already been approved by the Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC).
During the meeting, Kumaraswamy also handed over a letter written by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda to Gadkari, emphasising the importance of the project aimed at easing Bengaluru’s growing traffic congestion.
The STRR project aims to provide connectivity to eight key industrial towns surrounding Bengaluru. The 4 to 6-lane expressway will connect Dabaspet, Doddaballapura, Devanahalli, Sulibele, Hoskote, Anekal, Kanakapura, Ramanagara, and Magadi, covering Bengaluru and its surrounding satellite towns. Additionally, it will integrate with the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, providing connectivity to Hosur in Tamil Nadu.
Once the project is completed, it is expected to divert heavy commercial vehicles away from Bengaluru’s core, ensuring seamless freight movement for industries without adding to urban traffic congestion.
The 135 km-long STRR, which will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 4,750 crore, will feature controlled access, ensuring uninterrupted traffic flow, serving as a crucial industrial corridor for Karnataka.
OTHER PROJECTS DISCUSSED
The duo also discussed the swift implementation of the Mandya Ring Road project and Kumaraswamy informed Gadkari that the Mandya Urban Development Authority had already prepared a DPR. Noting that the estimated budget was insufficient, he urged approval for a revised project cost of B900 crore, to which Gadkari responded positively.
Meanwhile, the upgradation of the national highway passing through the Melukote Assembly Constituency, between Jevargi and Chamarajanagar, from a two-lane to a four-lane highway, construction of a truck way along the highway near Pandavapura Railway Station, and expedited implementation of various highway projects in Karnataka were also discussed.