Bengaluru’s Satellite Town Ring Road on track; NHAI floats Rs 4,750-crore tender

So far, only 80 km (Dabaspet to Hoskote) of the 280-km STRR has been completed.

The 280-km Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR, NH-948A) project, aimed at easing freight traffic and decongesting the tech capital, is finally on track.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is executing the project, on September 5 floated tenders for five packages (144Km) for STRR's West section estimated to cost Rs 4,750 crore.

The four to six-lane access-controlled STRR will connect suburban areas in and around Bengaluru, including Dobbaspet, Doddaballapur, Devanahalli, Sulibele, Hoskote, Anekal, Thattekere, Kanakapura, Ramanagara, and Magadi. It will also link Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

Also, read: PM Modi to inaugurate two stretches of Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road on March 11

While Karnataka government’s Peripheral Ring Road project remains on paper, STRR is expected to provide some relief to reduce traffic congestion in the tech-capital Bengaluru. NHAI officials, executing the Rs 17,000-crore project, said that STRR will serve as a bypass route for goods traffic, allowing commercial vehicles as well as inter-state commuters to avoid Bengaluru's core areas.

STRR will also serve as an alternative to NICE Road for truck traffic from Tamil Nadu heading towards states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. Trucks can divert to STRR before entering Hosur town and connect to Tumakuru Road at Dobbaspet. The expressway will also benefit motorists heading to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from Hosur and Mysuru by bypassing Bengaluru city. "STRR will cut down travel time between KIA and locations such as Mysuru and Kodagu" a senior NHAI official said.

Elevated highway through Bannerghatta National Park

The first package consists of the Obalapura (Nelamangala taluk) to Somakkanamutta (Magadi taluk) section, spanning 46.30 km at an estimated cost of Rs 1,419 crore. The second package covers Somakkanamutta (Magadi taluk) to Kunigal (Ramanagara taluk) over 32.7 km, at an estimated cost of Rs 825.1 crore. The third package, from Kunigal (Ramanagara taluk) to Thattekere (Kanakapura taluk), spans 33.64 km at a cost of Rs 978.9 crore.

The fourth package covers Thattekere (Kanakapura taluk) to Bagganadoddi (Anekal taluk), a stretch of 8.34 km, at a cost of Rs 1,018.3 crore. This package includes an elevated highway that passes through the Bannerghatta National Park, for which forest clearance is yet to be obtained.

Also, read: Global tender floated for Bengaluru's 74-km Peripheral Ring Road project

NHAI officials said that noise barriers will be installed to minimise disruption to wildlife, and construction will take place before sunrise and after sunset to further reduce environmental impact.

The fifth package, from Bagganadoddi (Anekal taluk) to S Mudugadapalli (Hosur taluk in Tamil Nadu), spans 23.27 km and is expected to cost Rs 507.39 crore. Tenders are likely to be finalised by October-end.

However, work on the remaining sections—Balagondapalli (Tamil Nadu) to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border and the four-lane realignment of the old NH-207 (NH-648) from the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border to Hoskote—is progressing at a slow pace.

Proposed in 2005, the STRR project gained momentum in 2017 when it was included in the Centre's Bharatmala Pariyojana. Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the STRR in June 2022, and it is being executed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). In March 2024, Modi inaugurated the first 80 km of the project, including Dobbaspete–Doddaballapur bypass section of NH-648 (42 km, constructed for Rs 1,438 crore) and Doddaballapur bypass–Hoskote section of NH-648 (37.6 km, built for Rs 1,317 crore).

STRR is also expected to improve connectivity to the proposed multi-modal logistics park at Dobbaspet and the upcoming Bengaluru-Pune greenfield expressway. Further, STRR will enhance access to Chennai Port and Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh. Designed for a speed of 100 kmph, the project will boost both freight speed and traffic capacity. While the deadline for the entire project is December 2025, it is likely to be completed by 2026-2027.

Also, read: Bengaluru's Satellite Town Ring Road to get drone landing facilities at 4 locations