Bengaluru to Mysuru in 75 minutes: All you need to know about the project PM Modi inaugurated

The project consists of two phases: a 58 km-long Phase 1 between Bengaluru and Nidaghatta, and a 61 km-long Phase 2 between Nidaghatta and Mysore. It has 19 large bridges, 44 small bridges and four railway overbridges (ROBs) and 50 underpasses for vehicles and pedestrians. In addition, it also comprises greenfield sections that form bypasses around Bidadi (7 km), Ramanagara-Channapatna (22 km), Maddur (7 km including 3.5 km of elevated highway), Mandya (10 km) and Srirangapatna (7 km). The work for the project started in May 2019 and was expected to be completed in two years.

What are the toll prices fixed by NHAI for this project?

In February, NHAI released a tentative toll chart for different types of vehicles. Light motor vehicles like cars were to pay Rs 135 for a one-way journey and Rs 205 if returning on the same day. After the opening of the second stretch, the toll fee for cars/jeeps/vans may come up to Rs 250.

However, NHAI decided to defer the toll collection on Bengaluru–Mysore expressway till March 14. According to the sources, the service road in certain portions of the stretch needed to be completed and in such a situation, toll collection was expected to draw public ire.

Presently, two-wheelers are allowed on the expressway but once the motorists are charged for using the roads, the NHAI plans to ban two-wheelers and three-wheelers on the main carriageway. Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP Pratap Simha had said, “The bikes and auto rickshaws will be allowed for a brief period of time but cannot give access to the expressway. Once the service road gets ready, they will be allowed to ply on the same. The commuters need to understand about it.”

Why is there uncertainty about the naming of the expressway?

The naming of the expressway has become a contentious issue as BJP leaders are proposing different names for it. While Pratap Simha urged Nitin Gadkari, Union minister of road transport and highways, to name the expressway as ‘Cauvery Expressway’ as the river passes through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, former Union minister and BJP leader SM Krishna asked to name it after the erstwhile Mysore kingdom king — Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

Krishna argued it would be a perfect tribute to Mysore’s former ruler, whose policies in irrigation, industrialisation and town planning helped develop the region. So far, there has been no official statement from either the Central or State agencies regarding its naming, and it’s currently being referred to as the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway.

What are some of the controversies around the project?

The Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway was hit by several controversies, ranging from high toll rates to incomplete service roads and portions of the expressway in Ramanagara submerging due to floods.

The Karnataka Congress staged a protest in February near the Sheshagirihalli toll gate, attacking the state government and the NHAI for incomplete service road works, lack of basic facilities and high toll rates. They alleged that although project director BT Sridhara promised to build a skywalk at Manchanayakanahalli panchayat after learning that many people use the road to crossover to the gram panchayat and also to visit the temple, its construction is still pending.

Opposition parties and some commuters also slammed the state government for “unjustified” toll rates, as service roads work and certain bypass road works are yet to be completed.

Further, farmers and villager residents in February blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway for more than two hours, demanding an underpass near Hanakere in Karnataka’s Mandya district. The protesters parked bullock carts on the highway and threatened to continue the protest indefinitely if the underpass construction was not initiated immediately. However, NHAI officials informed the protesters that a proposal for the underpass was pending before it and construction would begin once the project was approved.

In addition, the opposition parties also trained guns on the state government by raising concerns about the quality of the expressway work after monsoon showers caused flooding and nearly submerged an underpass near Ramanagara.

What is the current status of the expressway?

According to officials in the Public Works Department, there are still some pending works on the service road between the Bengaluru and Nidaghatta stretch. However, the authorities have already opened five bypasses between Bengaluru and Mysuru — the 7km Srirangapatna bypass, a 10km Mandya bypass, a 7km section that bypasses Bidadi, a 22-km section that bypasses Ramanagara and Channapatna and a 7-km section that bypasses Maddur.