The Karnataka section of the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway, which will connect Chennai to Bangalore at high speed, was recently inaugurated.

The Tamil Nadu section of the 262-km-long Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, was initially scheduled to be completed by August 2025, but has been facing delays due to monsoon, change of use issues, loan approvals and financial constraints. In this situation, two-wheelers have been banned from the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway!

When will the Tamil Nadu section become operational?

According to a progress report shared by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha, the 106-km-long Greenway Expressway in Tamil Nadu is being constructed in four phases.

Gudipala – Wallajahpet

Wallajahpet – Arakkonam (90% complete, expected by July)

Arakkonam – Kanchipuram (52% slow due to financial and land compensation issues, expected by year-end)

Kanchipuram – Sriperumbudur (expected by September)

Road opened in Karnataka

A 68 km stretch of the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway was informally opened for vehicular traffic last month. NHAI completed the construction of the 71 km stretch in Karnataka and opened the 68 km stretch to vehicular traffic last month. The remaining 260 km stretch from Hoskote near Chennai to Sriperumbudur runs through Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and is expected to be opened by the end of this year.

The entire road will be completed by the end of this year

The fully-accessible expressway starts from Hosagot in Bengaluru and ends at Sriperumbudur, passing through Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. While the Karnataka section is complete, delays continue in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Initially built as a four-lane expressway, it will be expanded to six or eight lanes as traffic increases. Designed for a speed of 120 kmph, the expressway aims to significantly reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Chennai.

Two-wheeler ban

According to reports, speeding and reckless driving are the main reasons. A day after four people, including a two-year-old girl, died in an accident on the newly constructed but yet-to-be-opened stretch of the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) banned the entry of two-wheelers.

Accidents continue

On Sunday night, an SUV lost control and collided head-on with a two-wheeler coming from the opposite direction near Kuppahalli in Bangarpet in Karnataka’s Kolar district. The deceased have been identified as the SUV driver Mahesh (45), his relative Ratnamma (60), Udvita (2) and an unidentified bike rider who were sitting in the front. All of them died on the spot due to the severe impact.

NHAI has decided that the expressway is not suitable for two-wheelers after it was opened!