Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Nov 22: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed an express highway between Bengaluru and the coastal region, ensuring uninterrupted road connectivity in all weather conditions.

MoRTH invited bids for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in July, and by the November 4 deadline, nine organizations had applied for the bid. The ministry is expected to approve the project in 2025. The winning contractor will have 540 days to prepare the DPR, and construction is likely to begin in 2028.

The proposed road, which will be 335 kilometres long, will be either a four-lane or six-lane highway passing through Hassan. It will feature several bypasses through the Western Ghats. If the project is realized, the travel time between Bengaluru and Mangaluru will be significantly reduced.

Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has also been a strong advocate for the project. He stated, “This high-speed corridor is the need of the hour for a city like Mangaluru. While the project is still in the planning stages, we are pushing for its implementation. There is no viable connectivity option between coastal Karnataka and other parts of the state. Mangaluru is almost isolated from the rest of the state. It has a port, but due to tourism and infrastructure limitations, it cannot be upgraded. The current road network is too lengthy, and train services are not feasible. Only air travel remains a viable option.”

Gundu Rao acknowledged the environmental and financial challenges of the expressway project. The Public Works Department (PWD) will assist the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with the project, particularly with land acquisition and ensuring better connectivity.

He added, “We need to address the route connections and implement several bypasses. Deciding on the financial model and toll fees will be a challenge. To make the project economically viable, we could also plan for townships along the route.”

NHAI regional officer Vilas P Brahmankar stated that the details of the road connections would be clear only after the DPR is ready. The current Bengaluru-Mangaluru road is prone to landslides during the monsoon. This road has six lanes between Bengaluru and Hassan, but it narrows down significantly afterward.

Brahmankar also mentioned, “NHAI is working on a 45 km stretch between Hassan, Sakleshpur, and Maranahalli to expand it to four lanes. Thirty-five kilometres of work has already been completed, and the project will be finished by June 2025. The Bantwal-Mangaluru stretch also has four lanes, but the Shiradi Ghat section remains a bottleneck. NHAI plans to build flyovers and tunnels on that stretch to add two more lanes. The DPR for the Shiradi Ghat work is still in the preliminary stage, and tenders will be called in 2025.”