4 months ago
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Many commuters utilizing the partially completed Bengaluru–Chennai Expressway person raised concerns implicit predominant malfunctions astatine the toll plazas, saying that method glitches successful the afloat automated strategy are causing postulation congestion and eroding the time-saving benefits promised by the project.
The expressway, envisioned to chopped question clip betwixt Bengaluru and Chennai to nether 3 hours, is inactive nether construction. Of the full 262 km length, astir 71 km has been completed truthful far. The agelong betwixt Hedigenabele, adjacent Hoskote, and Sundarapalya, adjacent to the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), became informally accessible to motorists successful December 2024. While the bulk of operation connected the Karnataka broadside is complete, enactment successful Tamil Nadu is inactive successful progress.
Commuters accidental that problems originate chiefly astatine automated toll plazas, peculiarly adjacent Agrahara, wherever FASTag-related errors often forestall barricades from opening.
Ravikumar, a regular idiosyncratic of the stretch, said helium has witnessed specified issues aggregate times. “Often, the FASTag lane malfunctions and vehicles heap up quickly. Since determination are nary unit stationed astatine the toll booths, motorists are near honking for respective minutes. Eventually, idiosyncratic comes retired from a adjacent power country with a handheld scanner to manually work the FASTag. Only aft that does the barricade open. By then, respective precious minutes are already lost,” helium said.
One lapse delays all
Another commuter, Pavan Rao, who precocious travelled from KGF to Bengaluru, said that though the expressway has importantly reduced question time, specified toll plaza errors volition origin postulation issues. “I was capable to scope Bengaluru from KGF successful astir 50 minutes, a travel that usually takes astir one-and-a-half hours. However, the payment was offset by a 25-minute hold adjacent the Agrahara toll plaza,” helium said.
According to Mr. Rao, the hold was triggered erstwhile a conveyance up had a blacklisted oregon unrecharged FASTag. “Since the obstruction did not unfastened for that vehicle, each the vehicles down were forced to wait, starring to a postulation jam. The authorities request to recognize that a afloat automated obstruction without capable on-ground quality enactment tin crook into chaos. At the aforesaid time, motorists indispensable besides instrumentality work and guarantee their FASTags are recharged connected time, arsenic 1 person’s lapse ends up affecting dozens of others,” helium added.
The expressway is expected to enactment arsenic a large economical catalyst on its corridor, which runs from Hoskote successful Karnataka to Sriperumbudur successful Tamil Nadu. Once afloat operational, it volition connection a faster and much businesslike alternate to the existing 340-km way via Hosur, Krishnagiri, and Ranipet, which typically takes astir six hours to traverse owed to congestion and municipality traffic.
Meanwhile, officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) person not responded regarding the toll plaza malfunctions oregon the deficiency of unit astatine automated booths.
Bengaluru–Chennai task status
Meanwhile, the advancement of road infrastructure betwixt Bengaluru and Chennai was highlighted successful a Rajya Sabha unstarred question connected December 10, 2025.
Replying to the question connected the project-wise presumption of the Chennai–Bengaluru road widening and upgradation works, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari stated, “The full Chennai–Bengaluru conception of NH-48 and NH-44 was upgraded to 4 lanes during 2001–05 nether the Golden Quadrilateral Programme. Subsequently, the agelong has been taken up for six-laning, wherein six projects covering a full magnitude of astir 318 km are nether execution, retired of which astir 287 km has already been completed. Further, 4 projects of the Chennai–Bengaluru Expressway, covering a full magnitude of astir 106 km astatine a outgo of astir ₹ 5,976 crore, are besides presently nether execution.”
