Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway: 71-km Karnataka section to be ready in a month

Aerial view of the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway. Photo credit: Droneman

The 71-kilometre (km)-long Karnataka section of the 260-km Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway (BCE) will be ready in a month, according to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

NHAI Regional Officer (Karnataka) Vilas P Brahmankar told Moneycontrol that: "Barring a 400-metre section, work on BCE's Karnataka section (Hoskote to Bethamangala) is complete. The pending work on this 400-metre section was stalled due to the delay in relocation of a temple at Jinnagera Cross near Hoskote, which was shifted two weeks ago. We will complete the entire section in a month."

He said that a decision on toll collection is yet to be taken. "We are yet to finalise the toll rates. But the volume of traffic will increase after the sections in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are completed next year. Once the entire Karnataka stretch is ready, motorists from Bengaluru can use this 71-km section to reach places such as Malur and Bangarpet."

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The expressway will have interchanges at its starting point in Hoskote, connecting with the Bengaluru Satellite Ring Road, with additional interchanges at Malur and KGF. The maximum speed limit will be 120 km per hour.

Travel time to KGF town is expected to be reduced to 45 minutes from Hoskote, as compared to 1.5 hours on the existing highway.

South India’s first greenfield access controlled expressway

BCE is South India's first greenfield access-controlled expressway (NE-7), starting from Hoskote near Bengaluru and terminating at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

The four-lane access-controlled expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Bengaluru and Chennai to just four hours. It will take about 1.30 hours to reach Hoskote, which is located about 30 km from Bengaluru. From Hoskote, the journey to Sriperumbudur via the expressway will take less than three hours. The expressway will pass through Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

The project, with provisions to expand to an eight-lane expressway in the future, is being executed by the NHAI under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). First announced in 2011, the foundation stone was laid in 2022. While the original deadline for the entire corridor was October 2024, it was extended to June 2025 and is now expected to be completed by December 2025.

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“It is designed for 120 kmph, and the distance between Bengaluru and Chennai will be reduced from around 350 km to 260 km. Travel time will be between 2.5 and 3 hours,” an official said.

At present, there are three routes connecting Bengaluru and Chennai: the most commonly used road via Hosur and Krishnagiri (Golden Quadrilateral), which is around 380 km; the Old Madras Road, which passes through Kolar and Chittoor, covering 340 km; and a third route that goes through Kolar, KGF, V Kota, and Vellore.

BCE is expected to become a major logistics corridor, speeding up the movement of goods and improving connectivity to Chennai port. "It will connect to the proposed multi-modal logistics park at Dobbspet, which is also accessible via NH207 or Bengaluru Satellite Ring Road from the BCE," the official added.

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