Starting August 1, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers, tractors and non-motorised vehicles will no longer be allowed to use the main carriageway of the Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway.
The 118-km expressway reported 132 fatal accidents between January 1 and June 30. It has a six-lane main carriageway and two-lane service roads on either side. It has four rail overbridges, nine significant bridges, 40 minor bridges, and 89 underpasses and overpasses.
On Tuesday, Santosh Kumar Yadav, Chairman and Highway Administrator at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), announced the ban through a gazette notification.
According to the NHAI, the expressway has been developed as a high-speed corridor with a speed limit of 80-100 kmph for different vehicles.
"...the movement of high-speed vehicles may pose a risk to the safety of certain classes of comparatively slow-moving vehicles, e.g. two-wheelers, three-wheelers and other slow-moving vehicles like non-motorised vehicles, agricultural tractors (with or without trailers) due to their vulnerability and associated speed differentials, and compromise the road safety aspects," the notification reads.
Accordingly, the following vehicles will be prohibited from using the expressway with effect from August 1, 2023:
a) Motorcycles (including scooters and other two-wheelers
b) Three-wheelers (including e-carts and e-rickshaws)
c) Non-motorised vehicles
d) Tractors special with or without trailers
e) Multi-axle hydraulic trailer vehicles
f) Quadri-cycles.