6-lane work on Bengaluru highway to resume in June

Much to the relief of hundreds of motorists frequenting Bengaluru, the long-pending work on the 93km stretch between Wallajahpet and Poonamallee, part of the six-lane Chennai-Bangalore National Highway (NH-4), will soon be taken up.

Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) told DT Next that they have finalised the procedures for land acquisition and clearing settlement.

The highways authority had completed the six-lane stretch between Wallajahpet and Hosur in 2015 itself. However, officials faced various hurdles, particularly land acquisition, when they started work on converting thethoroughfare from four-lane into sixlaneat an estimated cost Rs 1,288 crore. Officials said the land value shot up due to the growing urbanisation in the stretch.

“We are gradually acquiring land and are gearing up to resume work by June. We are keen to complete this project by the end of this year. It will have 50 bus bays with facilities like bus shelters, pavements for pedestrians, street furniture and rest areas,” said a senior engineer.

Meanwhile, activists urged the NHAI to fast-track the work.

“The existing four-lane WallajahpetPoonamallee stretch, which is passing through Sriperumbudur, Sunguvarchatram and Kaveripattinam, is in a poor condition, causing inconvenience to motorists.

Moreover, even as toll plaza in Sriperumbudur is collecting fee from motorists, they have failed in taking up maintenance work,” said S Mohanram, a civic activist and trustee of People’s Voice, Chennai.

“As land acquisition is over, we have already completed work for a distance covering 15 km. However, the project got delayed since there was a case pending before the court. Now we will instruct the contractual agency to accelerate the work,” said an NHAI official.

When asked about the poor condition of NH in this stretch, the official said that they were taking up repair work at all vulnerable points. “We have continuously been undertaking works on damaged roads,” he claimed.