Chennai: A recent update on the Chennai to Bengaluru Expressway indicated that the much-awaited project will miss its initial December 2024 deadline, with the inauguration now anticipated in 2025.
Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha that the completion of 3 projects Chennai ECR, Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, and Chennai- Tiruvallur has been pushed to 2025 from 2024, due to contractor performance issues.
PM Modi will inaugurate the Chennai- Bengaluru Expressway
The Union Minister said the Rs 17,000-crore Chennai – Bengaluru Greenfield Corridor project would be inagurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Launched in June 2022, the project aims to connect Bengaluru’s neighborhoods and reduce traffic within the city by 30%. The Rs 17,930 crore Green Road Expressway project, announced in 2018, has been under development for six years.
Test drive set to begin soon
The test drive of the Chennai Bangalore Expressway is about to begin. From next month, the test drive of the first phase of the roads constructed so far will begin. It spans Karnataka (71 km), AP (85 km), and TN (106 km).
One can drive in just two and half hours between Hoskote and Sriperumbudur after this 262 km NE7 (National Expressway) is done, according to officials.
Chennai-Bangalore road known as the BCE project is officially called NE-7. It is a four-lane access-controlled road connecting Hoskote near Bengaluru in Karnataka and Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
Chennai -Bengaluru expressway connects key cities
The expressway, which is being constructed for Rs 17,930 crore, will pass through the three states including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Hoskote, Malur, Bangarapet, Kolar Gold Fields, Venkatakrikota, Palamaner, Bangarupalam, Chittoor, Ranipettai and Sriperumbudur are the towns located on the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway route.
The expressway will be eight-lane for a distance of 240 km, while the remaining 22 km will be high-level eight-lane. A 21 km stretch of 4-lane double-decker elevated road from Chennai Port to Maduravayal will be constructed at a cost of around Rs 5,850 crore. This will ensure the continuous flow of goods to Chennai port.
Similarly, The 94 km long National Highway (NH-844) from Neralur to Dharmapuri has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 3,870 crore. A 31 km 2-lane highway connecting Meensuruti to Chidambaram (NH-277) has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 720 crore. Both the highways aim to provide continuous connectivity in the region.