NHAI officials said the Centre had proposed the expressway in 2011 to reduce the travel time between the two cities. They cited the huge volume of vehicles plying on the existing highway as another reason. The project would enable commuters to reach Bengaluru from Chennai or vice-versa within four hours, considerably down from the existing seven hours. The proposed 262-kilometre long six-lane expressway would run parallel to the existing  four-lane road.

Speaking to DT Next, Pon Radhakrishnan, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, acknowledged that it will take some more months to begin the project work. “Land acquisition process is still going on and we have instructed NHAI to speed up the process,” he stated. 

A senior NHAI engineer, on condition of anonymity, said, “It is a big project which is expected to begin by the end of March. Around 3,000 hectares of land is required for it. We also need to obtain environmental clearance for the project.” 

NHAI had carried out a feasibility study for the project in 2016, following which two consultants carried out a Detailed Project Report (DPR) a year later. According to the DPR, the expressway will pass through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, another official said. 

“The main project will also include 97 minor bridges, 60 major bridges, four road over bridges at railway crossings, nine flyovers and three elephant pass and other structures”, he pointed out. The official added there would be link roads between the existing four-lane road and the proposed Expressway  at every 20 km.