Safety Assurance Initiative: NHAI Appoints Expert Committee To Conduct Inspection Of Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has formed a panel of three experts to conduct a safety inspection of the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway.

This committee, appointed by the NHAI, consists of Sudarshan K. Popli, an Adviser for Road Safety; Praveen Kumar, Deputy General Manager of RSO in Bengaluru; and Jaivardhan Singh, the Manager of the Project Implementation Unit in Sohna.

As per the NHAI order issued by Sunil Jindal, the in-charge Chief General Manager of the Road Safety Division, the committee will conduct the safety inspection of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Access Controlled Highway from 17 to 20 July.

The committee has been instructed to submit a report within ten days after completing the inspection.

A committee has been formed to conduct a safety inspection of the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway in response to increasing complaints about the safety of travel on the recently opened road. Since its inauguration, there have been numerous road accidents reported on the expressway.

The NHAI-appointed Committee is conducting an inspection of the expressway following a previous inspection carried out by Alok Kumar, the Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety). Kumar focused on the stretches of the expressway where accidents had occurred.

In his report to the State government, Alok Kumar recommended several measures to improve safety on the expressway. These include the installation of signboards indicating speed limits, exits, and entries.

Additionally, Mandya MP Sumalatha urged the NHAI to complete pending works on the expressway, such as the construction of service roads, improvement of the median, and the installation of sufficient street lights, reports The Hindu.

The NHAI committee is expected to propose measures to enhance the safety of motorists on the expressway, including the installation of speed cameras. Their recommendations will play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of travellers on this busy road.

Accidents on Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway

On 5 July, the Karnataka state government informed the Legislative Council that accidents on the Bengaluru-Mysuru motorway claimed the lives of 20 persons on average each month. According to the state government, accidents on the highway resulted in up to 100 persons suffering serious injuries each month on average.

Between the months of January and June of this year, there were 512 accidents on the motorway. On the highway's Bengaluru to Nidaghatta segment, there were 245 accidents, while the Nidaghatta to Mysuru portion saw 267 accidents. There have been 123 fatalities overall.

The highest number of accidents in a month was reported in May when 110 occurred.

According to the state administration, "lack of lane discipline and exceeding the speed limit of 100 kmph" were the primary causes of the incidents. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed that two- and three-wheelers be banned on the expressway.

Bengaluru-Mysuru 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 118 km long project has been developed at a total cost of around Rs 8,480 crore.

The expressway will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from around 3 hours to about 75 minutes. It will act as a catalyst for socio-economic development in the region.

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