Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway: Last Mile Work Begins Amid Preparations For March Inauguration

Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway's last-mile construction on the Mysuru side has been taken up by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

With most portions of the expressway open for vehicular traffic, the opening of the seven km long Srirangapatna bypass last week marked the completion of the project.  

Work is progressing at a fast pace to meet the february-end deadline. A few minor works related to bridges that are pending are expected to be completed soon. 

Mysore-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, who played an instrumental role in working with the union government to expedite the funding and land acquisition related to the project, confirmed that the expressway would be officially inaugurated in March first week by PM Modi. 

The current focus of the works is Siddalingapura and Kalasthawadi.

An old bridge close to Kalasthawadi is being demolished and will be reconstructed after the alignment is changed. When it rained heavily, water used to penetrate the surrounding houses because the earlier bridge was small and congested.

“We are using technology to build concrete blocks under the bridge to divert the water. The old bridge was not in a position to withstand the pressure and as such, we decided on the alignment change,” said NHAI officers, reports Star of Mysore. 

According to NHAI officials, the water flowing under the bridge will be channelled so that there is no damage to the houses or the highway even if it rains heavily.

“We had to extend the bridge to meet the road structure because the Expressway has six lanes and four service roads. The project will be finished in 20 to 25 days”, said NHAI officers.

The construction of a retaining wall for a canal in Siddalingapura is the second phase of the project. This particular canal transports water to the fields in and near Siddalingapura from the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam.

According to NHAI officers, in order to accommodate the road and the service roads, a larger area is required here as well. The retaining wall will keep water from entering the Expressway.

While the Srirangapatna Bypass was opened for commuters on 28 January, another critical link - the Mandya bypass - was opened three days before that.

Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway

The 10-lane expressway (two-lane service roads on both sides) was conceptualised and executed as two distinct packages: 58 km Phase 1 between Bengaluru and Nidaghatta and 61 km Phase 2 between Nidaghatta and Mysore. 

The expressway comprises 8-km-long elevated corridors, nine major bridges, 42 minor bridges, 64 underpasses, 11 overpasses, four Road-Over-Bridges (ROBs) and five bypasses.

The expressway comprises six bypasses at Bidadi (7 km), Ramanagara and Channapatna (22 km), Maddur (7 km), Mandya (10 km) and Srirangapatna (7km).

The project's estimated cost is more than Rs 8,000 crore and includes brownfield and greenfield sections. Leading infrastructure firm Dilip Buildcon executed both packages.

The expressway originates near the NICE Road on the outskirts of Bengaluru and terminates near the Outer Ring Road junction in Mysuru.

The expressway is set to reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysore to 90 minutes.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will shortly notify the toll rates for the expressway.