SHIVAMOGGA: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari expressed confidence that the works on Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will be completed by December 2024 and with this, the travel time between the two major cities will be reduced to 2 hours. He spoke after laying the foundation stone for various national highway projects in six districts, including Shivamogga.
He said the four-lane expressway will pass through rural Bengaluru and Kolar in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and 106 km in Tamil Nadu. “This new expressway will connect two major IT hubs in Southern India and intensify the development of industries. Also, a logistic park will be set up in Bengaluru,” the minister said.
He added that to address the traffic woes of Bengaluru, an Outer Ring Road that connects towns around the city will be developed by year-end. Gadkari said the Centre plans to invest Rs 1,44,922 crore to develop NHs in Karnataka in the next two years. He also said that NH between Hassan and Hiriyur was being laid at Rs 402 crore and requested Minister Satish Jarkiholi to clear the land acquisition and forest land issues to complete the work.