New highway to cut Vijayawada-Bengaluru travel time by 5 hours: Here are the details

The Bangalore-Kadapa-Vijayawada Greenfield Access Controlled Corridor is being built at a cost of Rs 13,600 crore.

Vijayawada Bengaluru highway, Andhra access control highway. nitin gadkari, express explained

During festivals, the traffic from Bengaluru towards Andhra Pradesh increases drastically, further prolonging the travel time. (Picture for representation)

The Centre has announced the construction of a highway connecting Vijayawada to Bengaluru, aimed at reducing the travel time between the two cities by five hours. The 342-km highway is to be built at a cost of Rs 13,600 crore.
Here are all the details of the project.

In a tweet on September 28, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that the highway will connect the two cities via Kadapa. The four-to-six-lanes highway will be access-controlled, with feeder roads connecting at designated places.

How will the highway help

The Bangalore-Kadapa-Vijayawada Greenfield Access Controlled Corridor directly connects two major cities in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, reducing the distance between them by 75 km. This will a big relief to the large number of software engineers and other professionals from Andhra working in Bengaluru.

The project for 342 km long Bangalore-Kadapa-Vijayawada Greenfield Access Controlled Corridor is being developed at a total capital cost of Rs. 13,600 Cr. #PragatiKaHighway #GatiShakti @BSBommai @ysjagan @JoshiPralhad @kishanreddybjp @Rajeev_GoI @DVSadanandGowda @AnantkumarH

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) September 28, 2022

At present people who want to drive from Vijayawada or nearby districts to Bengaluru have the option of taking the NH 16, which takes about 13 hours; the NH 16 and NH 167B via Kadapa, which takes 14 hours; or NH 16 and NH 44, which takes about 15 hours. However, as NH 167B and NH 44 do not have access control, traffic congestion often increases the travel time. During Telugu festivals, the traffic from Bengaluru towards Andhra Pradesh increases drastically, further prolonging the travel. The new highway will cut the travel time to six to seven hours.

Why is Andhra Pradesh keen on the project?

The ruling YSRCP government is aggressively promoting ease of doing business and inviting big investments into Andhra Pradesh. For this, the government is setting up exclusive business districts. The access-controlled multi-lane highway provides a fast and safe route to Bengaluru — which has an international airport — from industrial hubs coming up in Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool, Kadapa, and Anantapur, all within a 700-km range.

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While the Chennai International Airport is closer, within a 500-km range, the NH 16 towards Chennai is already congested. The new project also brings the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, which is far away from major airports like Vijayawada or Hyderabad, closer to Bengaluru.

When will this highway be ready?

According to the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, the project will be finished in 2025-26. While Gadkari announced the construction of the highway two weeks back, his ministry has made changes in the original plan he approved in March 2017, when he agreed to a similar proposal made by then CM N Chandrababu Naidu.

In March 2017, the Centre had accepted a proposal by Naidu for a 394-km expressway from the proposed capital city Amaravati to Anantapur. This proposed highway did not have any access except at Kurnool and Kadapa.

Sreenivas Janyala

Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance. Expertise and Experience Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues: High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy. Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules. Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes. Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak. Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More