Work on 126 km of the satellite town ring road (STRR), expected to reduce vehicle congestion in the city, is being expedited, with officials hoping to roll out a tender in the next few months.
The Union government has taken up the 180-km expressway project to provide an alternative to highway traffic that is currently passing through Bengaluru.
The six-lane road will throw a ring around the city. From Dobbspet, it will connect Doddaballapur, Devanahalli, Hoskote, Sarjapur, Anekal, Kanakapura, Ramanagaram and Magadi.
“The project will be taken up in three phases and tenders for the first and last phase will be called by the end of this year,” said R K Suryavamshi, regional officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Phase 1 between Dobbspet and Ramanagaram, measuring about 80 km, and the 46-km Phase 3 on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border will be expedited. About 45 km of the road is in Tamil Nadu. However, the Phase 2 stretch that passes through the Bannerghatta forest area may take some time, officials said.
Asked about the deadline for the project, the regional officer said such details will become clear after the tenders are out. “The project gets expedited once the land acquisition process gathers speed. Usually, we set a deadline of two years,” he said.
The work on the stretch passing through the green zone is expected to take more time since forest clearance is required to take up development projects. NHAI officials said they have met PWD Minister H D Revanna last week, seeking special land acquisition officers for some of their projects.
“We were told that the chief minister will hold a high-level meeting to ensure that the projects are completed at a faster rate,” an official said.
The Centre had offered to take up the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project on the condition that the state should bear 50% of the cost. As there was no reply, NHAI was told to take up STRR.