BENGALURU: From August 1, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, tractors and other agricultural vehicles will not be allowed to enter the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway.
A notification was issued on July 12 and will come into effect from August 1, a top official from National Highways Authority of India told The New Indian Express.
They will be blocked at the entry points and are free to use the service road. Non-motorized vehicles and multi-axle hydraulic vehicles will also be restricted from entering the e-way.
While there were demands before NHAI to allow two-wheelers with high cubic capacity (indicating power output of the engine) to be allowed, with the toll fee, all requests were declined and a blanket ban was imposed on all kinds of two-wheelers.
Expressway saw 132 fatal accidents since January
The 6-lane expressway, which reduces travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru, was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March, but was opened to traffic months earlier. Ever since, it has been in the news for one or other reason, including fatal accidents, controversy over the toll fee, and lack of a continuous service road.
Home Minister G Parameshwara had stated that the e-way lacks scientific planning and the police department, led by Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) Alok Kumar inspected the stretch in June and started penalising overspeeding vehicles. Of the 296 accidents on the e-way since January, 132 were fatal. The maximum speed limit allowed on the e-way is 100 km/hour.
After being heavily criticised for the increasing number of accidents, NHAI set up a three-member committee to inspect the stretch and is expected to submit a report by this month-end.
ALOK KUMAR INSPECTS EXPRESSWAY
Additional Director-General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) Alok Kumar inspected the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway on Tuesday along with Ramanagara SP Karthik Reddy and IGP (Central Range) BR Ravikanthe Gowda. Alok Kumar examined the safety measures taken to curb the increasing accidents on the expressway.