[NPV]

Originally Posted by SourPai

Yes, I saw the entry ramp on the Kolar-Bangalore side. It was not asphalted yet, but it was leading to expressway without any barricades today. However entry on this ramp was not clear from the main road and I left it at that

Unless you took that entry ramp and drove about 300-400 metres, you can’t see the place where the barricades (median blocks) were - the ones seen in the picture I shared.
Basically you can’t make out if the expressway is blocked or not from old madras road.

[Imminent1776]

Anyone know if the Karnataka section of the expressway is open yet?

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Imminent1776

Anyone know if the Karnataka section of the expressway is open yet?

No, its closed again now. Not open currently so we have to wait.

-Ravi

[maheshsm12]

More delay for BCE to be operational

https://www.oneindia.com/chennai/che...y-4066527.html

[TSIVTEC]

Originally Posted by Imminent1776

Anyone know if the Karnataka section of the expressway is open yet?

Opened on 7th Feb. I drove till the KGF exit on Saturday. Quite a few people have started using the road tbh. As of now tolls aren't operational.

Beware of people driving on the wrong side of the road, jaywalkers and dogs randomly jumping on to the road from the sides.

Apart from this, I genuinely have started questioning the road construction quality as a lot of places already have been dug up and relaid leading to uneven and coarse surfaces throughout.

[salluks]

Can you enter from hoskote interchange and how far does it go?

[ravib]

Myself and BHP-ian NPV did a Sunday morning breakfast drive in BCE all the way till Venkatagiri Kota/Bethmangala exit.

From Bangalore - Hoskote to Kolar direction traffic, we can now normally take the free left clover leaf to enter BCE. No need for any workarounds or opposite side U-turns etc. Simple and straightforward without any confusion. However, the Kolar to Hoskote-Bangalore direction free left is not possible as the road is not tarred and cars cannot enter.

Drive from Hoskote to Venkatagiri Kota/Bethmangala exit is super smooth. Road conditions are great, but in current state everyone need to be careful as many two wheelers and cars do drive in wrong side. We also saw few trucks now itself. There aren't many vehicles in opposite direction towards Bangalore side though. We then took the Sunrapalya/Bethmangala/Avani road to reach back NH4/NH75 in Old Madras Road.

Malur, KGF and Venkatagiri Kota/Bethamangala are major exits at this point. No tolls are operational and only one left most lane is opened for cars to pass through. It seems they finished the road all the way till Baidreddipalle and the road is blocked. If they complete one more section for about another ~40 kms more till Palamaner exit, that will help a lot so that all Tirupati and Chennai bound traffic can start taking expressway , sooner than end of this year hopefully! Fingers crossed.

That will help to cruise in much faster and greater average speed to reach Palamaner exit. We can completely avoid Narasipura, Kolar, Mulbagal, Nangli traffic and on-going bridge constructions.

Let's see....

One of the recent 2 days old YouTube video by a vlogger to see latest update.

https://youtu.be/0vsr2YXW_oc?si=arUXXXlA0OkO7NlE

-Ravi

[ravib]

It appears to me that, even though the permitted speed is 120 kmph for cars and 80 kmph for HMV, all we will get in practicality is a zig-zag driving experience being a 4L road.

For sure, heavy trucks and or buses will occupy the high speed lane and there will be a slow moving car/vehicle in left lane, thus leaving a video-game type driving experience to navigate between the vehicle gaps, more than a smooth straightforward cruise control style driving. It also means, we will need to brake more for the zig-zag navigation , thus reducing the overall speed.

As more traffic picks up, eventually, our average speed will drop to 80 to 90 kmph at best over time, thus increasing the travel time after paying heavy toll.

Latest YouTube video to see the current status in entry part of TN side expressway in Ranipet / Sholinghur.

-Ravi

https://youtu.be/qFTr1aBLNS8?si=FRe6dsSebd_wAtfS

[univ_explorer]

Planning to drive from Chennai to BLR tomorrow with a friend and interested to experiment the new highway as I’m not travelling with family. Can someone please advise the route I should take from Chennai? Anything to be aware of.
Understand that shops/support infra will be limited. Anything else to be aware of?

[itwasntme]

Update from ToI:
68km Bengaluru-Chennai expressway stretch opens within Karna ..

Read more at:
http://m.timesofindia.com/articlesho...campaign=cppst

[gops619]

Google maps is also now updated with the newly opened stretch. Per reports, the Andhra Pradesh stretch is expected to open by end of the year.

[adetour]

Google Map has plotted BCE till Sundarapalya

Yesterday 70kms of BCE till Sundarapalya interchange was enabled on Google Maps(although it has been open for a few weeks now), and from today directions are working, in a few days Google Traffic would also be enabled.


The section


Hoskote Interchange to Palamner - now is 104kms directly on OMR and 116kms through BCE (46kms of it via 2laned roads through VKota and BRpalle).
Until probably the Eway opens till the BRPalle interchange, there might not be a huge time benefit apart from trying to avoid the diversions mess on OMR during weekend crowded hours.



As usual Google Maps algo gives higher priority to expressways for directions, hence now various queries like Bangalore to Chennai, Bangalore to Vellore (even from Yeshwantpur!), Chennai to Hubli.etc are by default routed via BCE - VKota - Pernambut - Gudiyatham - Pallikonda








Ensure to watch out for this, and do know that the Sundarapalya - VKota - Pallikonda is 2 laned road with a ghat in between, the 67kms would take around 75-90minutes atleast. Passing through VKota, Peranambut and especially Gudiyatham towns can be painful.

[showboat]

With the Chitooor highway having the roadworks going on (over that train track) would it still be faster to take that route, over the new Expressway and the state road to Vellore?

[Ice]

Took this route on my drive in to bangalore today. The expressway is fantastic. The approach via gudiyattam less so. There is an old school ghat section, where I found a continuous stream of downhill traffic with no regard for proper ghat driving. Users please be careful and courteous on this route.

The expressway had some crazies on bikes who tried to weave at high speeds, but I’m guessing this will not be a problem once the expressway officially opens

[maheshsm12]

Drone Footage of Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway

Karnataka side of Bengaluru Chennai Expressway is open to the public - From Hoskote to Bethamangala - 71kms

https://x.com/sriharikaranth/status/...qF06rWp9g&s=19