BENGALURU: The ambitious 117.3-km 10-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, which is being readied to reduce travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes, from the present three hours, is on track to meet its revised deadline of October 2022, as specified by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
The first phase from Bengaluru to Nidaghatta in Mandya district will be ready by May next year, while the second phase from Nidaghatta to Mysuru will be in place in September, said National Highways Authority of India officials.
The Rs 8,172-crore project intends to convert the present four-lane highway into a six-lane, along with four service lanes and paved shoulders for two-wheelers and autorickshaws on both sides of the road. Vehicles can zip past at 100 kmph when it is ready.
A top NHAI official told TNIE that 83% work was completed in Phase-I that runs to 56.2 km, while 78% had been completed in Phase-II that runs to 61.1 km. However, the two Covid waves and a shortage of manpower and material have pushed deadlines repeatedly in the last two years. Land acquisition issues had also dogged it for many years, but that is no longer an issue, the official said.
Giving a breakup of the progress, he stated that an elevated highway was being built from RR Medical College to Christ University in the Bengaluru-Nidaghatta section, with four bridges. “Around 85% of the elevated section is completed and three bridges are ready, while the fourth was being readied,” he said.
For the stretch between Nidaghatta to Mysuru, an elevated highway was coming up for 3.38 km at Maddur, with a portion running to 275 metres in Srirangapatna. “The foundation and casting work have been completed. Erection of segment and wings are in progress, and we can say that 78% of the overall work is complete,” he explained.