Bengaluru to Chennai in 2 hours through new expressway by this year: Gadkari

The upcoming Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will be ready for commuters by the end of this year or by January next year. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari gave this assurance as the construction of the new expressway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) nears completion. Gadkari made the remarks during a visit to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, to review the progress of the new expressway. Once completed, travelling between Bengaluru and Chennai by road will take just two hours instead of seven hours taken at present via National Highway 48.

The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, which will also be known as the National Expressway 7 or NE7, is being built by the NHAI at a cost of ₹17,000 crore and will cover 285 kms between the two cities. This is part of NHAI's upcoming projects in Karnataka with overall distance of 8,005 kms and worth ₹two lakh crore. The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will have four lanes, with separated service lanes on either side. It is one of the first major road network between two key cities in the southern states.

The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will have a speed limit of 120 kmph for light vehicles. It will cut down the distance between the two cities by around 40 kms and will drastically reduce the travel time to just two hours and 15 minutes. Gadkari said, "The Bengaluru-Chennai express highway will start by this year-end or January 2024. So, you can launch luxury buses and sleeper coaches in this sector."

The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will start fromHoskotein Bengaluru and terminate atSriperumbudurnear the state capital of Tamil Nadu. The expressway will pass through Bangarpet in Karnataka, Palamaner and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh en-route to Sriperumbudur. The expressway is being constructed in two phases. Around 85 kms of the expressway will go through Andhra Pradesh. It will also pass through eco-sensitive zones like the Palamaner Reserved Forest area and the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary.