Bengaluru-Mysuru Six-Lane Highway: Rather Than Solving, It May Worsen Traffic Woes, Says IISC Professor

Both Bengaluru and Mysuru are likely to choke because of the number of vehicles that the highway will see once it is upgraded to six-lane, Deccan Herald has reported. This scenario can be averted if high-capacity transport arrangements like High-Speed Rail (HSR) and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) are put in place.

Associate Professor of Transport Systems Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Ashish Verma has informed that even if the mobility increases after the highway upgrade, space will keep saturating since the number of vehicles will go up.

The Government of Karnataka (GoK) has proposed the highway at the cost of Rs 7,000 crore and will be 117-km long. The route includes several elevated corridors and bridges. “Sustainable urban growth is possible when such capital-intensive projects incorporate high capacity systems.

Dedicated lanes to support BRTS should be planned. This will ensure that people will eventually shift to public transport. As land acquisition is a major headache, a small patch along the corridor could have been reserved for HSR,” the professor was quoted as saying.

Additionally, a new proposal lies with the Railway Board for an HSR corridor to be established between Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru. This will cut down the travel time from the two cities to an hour or lesser.