The newly upgraded Bengaluru-Mysuru road is an access-controlled national highway with a speed limit of 100kmph and not an expressway where the maximum permissible speed is 120kmph, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has clarified.
The clarification comes on the back of the enforcement authorities starting to penalise motorists for crossing 100kmph on the road as a measure to curb road accidents, and some motorists subsequently raising objection to this on social media, saying if the road is an expressway, the maximum permissible limit should be 120kmph.
“Our notifications clearly state that it is an access-controlled-highway and not an expressway. The highway is designed for a maximum speed limit of 100kmph, not 120kmph. As the infrastructure looks like that of an expressway, people may be calling it by that name. The enforcement agencies are enforcing rules on speed limits as applicable for an access-controlled highway. The recent notification issued for restricting autos, bikes and other slow-moving vehicles states that the speed limit for using the main carriageway ranges from 80 mph to 100kmph,” NHAI regional officer Vivek Jaiswal said.
Expressways have wider lanes than highways and are built to superior specifications. The speed limit for expressways is 120kmph, while that on highways is 100 kmph.
A day prior to the launch of the new road infrastructure between Bengaluru and Mysuru by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 13, the PM’s Twitter handle had posted that the ‘Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway’ would be dedicated to the nation and it would would boost connectivity and socio-economic growth. Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari too had termed the infrastructure an expressway over the years, while updating about the progress of the project and sharing details of its unique features.
Police are using AI-based cameras and interceptors to penalise those speeding on the road. ADGP (traffic and road safety) Alok Kumar too said the new six-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru road is not an expressway. “It is access-controlled NH-275 and maintained by the NHAI,” he said.
