A view of the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road’s Hoskote-Tamil Nadu border section.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: One more section of the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) is on track to open by March 2025, with construction now in its advanced stages, according to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Vehicles will be able to use the 21-km stretch connecting Hoskote to the Tamil Nadu border early next year, but will not have to pay toll for the first few months. In addition, toll charges on this stretch are expected to be lower than those on the two existing operational sections of the STRR (Dobbspet-Doddaballapur and Doddaballapur-Hoskote).
With the opening of the Hoskote-TN border stretch, the total operational length of the STRR will increase to 102.6 km. When fully completed in 2027, the STRR will be 288 km long. Of this, 45 km will fall under Tamil Nadu.
“Fifty percent of the work on the Hoskote-TN border stretch is complete, and we are on track to finish by the February-March deadline,” NHAI (Bengaluru) Project Director KB Jayakumar told DH.
This section of the STRR is a greenfield project, meaning it is being built from scratch, which is why the toll rates will be relatively lower, Jayakumar explained.
Car users pay Rs 185 (single journey) and Rs 275 (return journey within 24 hours) for the Dobbspet-Hoskote stretch, which spans 81.6 km. This translates to Rs 2.2 per kilometre (single journey) and Rs 1.68 (return journey).
The Hoskote-TN border stretch will have six lanes and an 11-metre-wide depressed median for separating traffic, like NICE Road, Jayakumar explained.
This stretch will also connect to the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway (NE 7).
Regarding the progress of the construction, the NHAI official stated that the work on the lone rail overbridge (ROB) had commenced following clearance from the South Western Railway (SWR). The ROB is being built at Lingadeeramallasandra village on the Bengaluru-Chennai railway line.
“The railways has given clearance and the foundation work has started. The ROB will be ready by February,” Jayakumar said. He also noted that the work on the 11 underpasses is nearing completion.
The STRR section from Dobbspet to the Tamil Nadu border (102.6 km) is designated as National Highway 648.
In early September, the NHAI invited tenders to construct the STRR’s remaining five stretches spanning 144.25 km at a cost of Rs 4,749.74 km and with a two-year deadline. These five stretches will be designated as NH 948.
When fully operational, the STRR will encircle all of Bengaluru and eliminate the need for long-distance commercial vehicles to enter the city.
Highlights -
STRR: Hoskote-TN border
Length: 21 km
Features: 6 lanes, 11 underpasses, 1 rail overbridge & 1 flyover
Deadline: March 2025