The trip from Chennai to Bengaluru will take just 2 hours

During the 75th-anniversary program of Ashok Leyland in Chennai, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari declared that, come January 2024, the travel duration between Bengaluru and Chennai will be reduced to a mere two hours upon the inauguration of the new Greenfield Expressway, reports India Express.

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The Bengaluru-Chennai expressway is among the 36 Greenfield Expressways currently under construction in India. Nitin Gadkari stated, “In January next year, we will initiate the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, reducing the travel time between these two cities to just two hours. This will pave the way for the introduction of luxury buses and electric sleeper coach buses, offering a business-class-like experience. Furthermore, due to its electric nature, ticket prices can be reduced by 30%.” The initial project completion estimate was March 2024.

The “new alignment” initiative aims to establish a connection between Hoskote, situated in Bengaluru, and Sriperumbudur in the Kanchipuram district, located 40 km away from Chennai. This expressway forms part of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) portfolio of 36 newly planned Green Expressways, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2022.

The construction of the 262 km-long Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway comes with a price tag exceeding Rs 17,930 crore and will traverse through the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Over 240 km of this highway will consist of eight lanes, with an additional 22 km designed as an elevated section. The project necessitated the acquisition of a total land area spanning 2,650 hectares.

The project is progressing in three distinct phases. Phase one involves the development of a 62.6 km section between Hoskote and Bethamangala in Karnataka. In phase two, attention will shift to an 85 km stretch, extending from Bethamangala to Gudipala in Andhra Pradesh. Finally, phase three encompasses a 106 km segment that will connect Gudipala to Sriperumbuddur in Tamil Nadu.