280 km satellite town ring road to connect 12 towns of Bengaluru

The Bengaluru Satellite Ring Road project is moving forward quickly, and it is anticipated to be finished by March 2024, far ahead of schedule, according to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. The 280 kilometre long Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR), being built by the National Highway Authority of India, will link 12 significant towns in the Bengaluru region, including Dobbasapete, Doddaballapura, Devanahalli, Sulibele, Hoskote, Sarjapura, Attibele, Anekal, Tattekere, Kanakapura, Ramanagaram, and Magadi.

According to Gadkari, the project will link eight state highways and six national highways, which will assist ease of traffic in the city. He further emphasised that once the project is finished, many trucks travelling to other areas of Karnataka won't need to enter Bangalore city. It will reduce traffic congestion in Bengaluru by giving trucks a different path to take around congested regions of the city.

The STRR project, which was first suggested in 2005, gained impetus after the Narendra Modi administration said that funding and execution will be handled under the Bharatmala Pariyojana project. It's estimated that the project will cost Rs 150 billion. About 60% of the project's finance would come from the NHAI, and the remaining 40% will come from the Karnataka government. NH- 948A is being developed as part of STRR, which is being built in three concurrent phases, and the existing NH-648 is being realigned (old NH-207).

The Karnataka government established the Satellite Town Ring Road Planning Authority in 2016 to oversee the development of STRR. A total of 1,019 square kilometres fall under the purview of the STRRPA. There will be 12 connected towns as well as 331 connected villages.