All-weather high-speed road to link Bengaluru-Mangaluru

Proposed e-way to cut travel time, boost port connectivity

Bengaluru: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) plans to build an expressway (high-speed corridor) to link Bengaluru and Mangaluru in an ambitious project to provide seamless, all-weather road connectivity between southern and coastal Karnataka. 

Taking the first concrete steps to make the project a reality, the ministry in July invited bids to select a consulting firm for the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR). On November 4, when the deadline closed, nine firms submitted technical bids.

The ministry is expected to award the contract next year. The winning contractor will have 540 days to prepare the DPR, and construction is expected to begin in 2028. 

The road may span 335 km and have four or six lanes. It will pass through Hassan and will likely have several bypasses around the difficult terrain of the Western Ghats. If the expressway becomes a reality, travel time between Bengaluru and Mangaluru is expected to be significantly reduced from the present 7-8 hours. 

Dinesh Gundu Rao, the Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, is among those who have pushed for the project, calling it "a big need" for Mangaluru. 

"The project is still in the conceptual stage and we have been pushing for it. There is no viable connectivity between coastal Karnataka and other parts of the state. Mangaluru is virtually cut-off from the rest of the state. The Mangaluru port has also not developed to its potential because of the transportation issues. Tourism, too, also suffered. The existing road takes a long time. Trains are not viable either. Flights are often the only viable option," he told DH. 

Rao acknowledged the environmental and financial challenges associated with the expressway project and stressed the need for a "good alignment". 

According to him, Karnataka's Public Works Department (PWD) will collaborate with the National Highways Authority (NHAI) on the project, assisting in such crucial aspects as alignment and land acquisition. 

"The route alignment has to be fixed. We will need several bypasses. Determining the financing model will be the next challenge. We will also need to discuss the toll charges. To make it financially viable, we may build townships," he explained. 

Vilas P Brahmankar, Regional Officer, NHAI, Bengaluru, said the alignment would be known only after the DPR is prepared. 

The existing Bengaluru-Mangaluru road (National Highway 75) is prone to landslides and sees frequent closures during rains. While it has six lanes between Bengaluru and Hassan, it narrows down thereafter. 

NHAI is currently four-laning the Hassan-Sakleshpur-Maranahalli section (45 km). 

Brahmankar said: "We have four-laned 35 km, and work is in progress on the remaining 10 km. It will be completed by June 2025." 

The Bantwal-Mangaluru section also has four lanes. The Shiradi Ghat section will be the only bottleneck, where the NHAI has planned to add two more lanes by constructing a hybrid of flyovers and tunnels, he explained. 

A second NHAI official added that the DPR for the Shiradi Ghats work was still under preparation and that tenders would be called next year.