Elevated expressway to connect Bangalore to electronic hub

June 23, 2006

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Bangalore, June 23 (IANS) A dedicated 10-km elevated expressway is being built from the Silicon hub of Bangalore to the electronics city to ferry thousands of techies to their workplace in top gear, non-stop.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to kick-start the project by laying the foundation stone Saturday here in the presence of union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Governor T.N. Chaturvedi, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and top officials.

The brainchild of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Karnataka government, the four-lane expressway will be raised above the six-lane national highway (NH-7), connecting Bangalore to Hosur across the state border in Tamil Nadu.

The 10-lane mixed corridor with the elevated highway will not only make the present traffic jams on NH-7 a thing of past, but also facilitate knowledge workers to log into their office in quick time. They will have to, of course, pay for the hi-tech facility as toll,’ union Minister of State for Surface Transport & Highways K.H. Muniappa told IANS here.

‘Currently, the existing four-lane NH-7 is overburdened with about 100,000 vehicles driving in and out of the city towards the electronics city, Hosur and onwards to Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala daily.

‘The mixed corridor has been designed to take a load of 81,000-124,000 without causing traffic snarls. Those driving into the electronics city will be able to cross the 10 km elevated highway at 100 km speed in less than six minutes,’
Muniappa pointed out.

To be built by a consortium of three contractors at an estimated cost of Rs.4.5 billion on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis, the corridor project is expected to be completed in the next 24 months.

Interestingly, neither NHAI nor the state government will be investing in the project.

‘The drive along the elevated corridor and the six-lane highway on the ground will reduce travel time and save fuel costs by over 30 percent. A two-lane service road on both sides of the highway will cater to slow-moving vehicles, including tractors, carts and bicycles, with sidewalks (footpaths) and four underpasses for pedestrians,’ Muniappa said.

The consortium will recover the project cost over a 20-year period by charging a fee of Rs.10 for two-wheelers, Rs.25 for cars, Rs.35 for mini-buses and Rs.70 for buses for the elevated expressway.

Two-wheelers will, however, be exempt from toll for using the six-lane highway. Four-wheelers such as cars, mini buses and buses will have to pay Rs.15, Rs.25 and Rs.50, respectively.

Trucks, earth moving equipment and heavy construction machinery will be charged Rs.105 for the highway and Rs.140 for the elevated expressway.

As one of the busiest sections in the country, the 40 km Bangalore-Hosur stretch of NH-7 has been a nightmare for motorists and commuters as the dense vehicular traffic has been causing severe hardships, with delays, pollution and congestion compounding the situation.