Project Overview

The Bangalore-Mangalore Greenfield Expressway is a proposed four-lane access-controlled expressway that will create a direct, high-speed road link between Bangalore and Mangalore. At approximately 335 km, the project will be one of the largest single-state greenfield highway projects in Karnataka's history. Its alignment crosses the Western Ghats at or near the Shiradi Ghat, one of India's most challenging mountain terrain sections for highway construction. 

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) invited bids in June 2024 to appoint a consultant to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the expressway. The project is being developed under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan framework, which provides the overarching policy structure for integrated infrastructure development. 

The expressway's eastern terminal is expected to connect to the 280 km Bangalore Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR), the outer ring road under construction around Bangalore, rather than terminating inside the city. This design enables traffic from multiple directions in Bangalore to access the Mangalore Expressway without traversing the congested urban core. 

The western terminal at Mangalore gives the expressway direct importance as a port connectivity corridor. New Mangalore Port (NMPT) handles approximately 45 million metric tonnes per year of iron ore exports, petroleum product imports, container traffic, and bulk cargo.

The current road supply chain between Bangalore's industrial belt and NMPT relies entirely on NH-75 — a mountainous two-to-four-lane highway with severe ghat section constraints. A dedicated expressway with bypass tunnels through the Western Ghats would transform this logistics corridor and reduce road freight costs for bulk commodities. 

The project’s engineering challenge is the Western Ghat crossings. The Shiradi Ghat section of NH-75, between Sakleshpur in Hassan District and the coastal plains approaching Mangalore, is among India's most accident-prone and monsoon-vulnerable mountain road sections. The expressway connecting Bangalore to Mangalore resolves this crossing through a combination of tunnels, elevated viaducts, and a new alignment selection that avoids the worst of the ghat's terrain. The DPR process will define exactly how this is accomplished. 

Project Background

The need for a high-quality road link between Bangalore and Mangalore has been recognised in Karnataka's transport planning for more than three decades. The existing NH-75 route, particularly the Shiradi Ghat section, has been identified in accident data and freight cost studies as the most dangerous and economically costly stretch of road in Karnataka. Despite multiple improvement projects, the ghat section cannot be resolved by widening alone. 

MoRTH first formally signalled its intent to build a Bangalore-Mangalore greenfield expressway when it included the project in the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan framework. In June 2024, the ministry invited bids to appoint a DPR consultant. This invitation to appoint a consultant was the project’s first concrete administrative action toward implementation. 

The DPR process for a Western Ghats crossing expressway is inherently complex and time- consuming. The environmental sensitivity of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's eight biodiversity hotspots, means that alignment selection must be conducted under strict constraints.

Any land diversion from forest areas requires approval from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of MoEF&CC and clearance from the Supreme Court's Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

This process typically takes 2–3 years after the DPR is submitted. The DPR itself, given the tunnelling complexity, may take 18–24 months to finalise after consultant appointment. Land acquisition cannot commence before DPR approval. 

Bangalore Mangalore Expressway Current Status

As of May 2026, the Bangalore Mangalore Expressway is at the DPR stage, with no land acquisition has commenced & no construction work having begun. The consultant agreement was signed on 30 April 2025, and the DPR is expected to take about 18 months. Following this, the construction is expected to start in 2028.

Stakeholder Details

Bangalore Mangalore Expressway Route

The Bangalore Mangalore Expressway connects Bangalore, India's technology capital and Karnataka's largest city, with Mangalore, Karnataka's primary port city on the Arabian Sea and the largest urban centre on the state's Tulu Nadu coast. It passes through six districts of Karnataka. 

The alignment passes through Hassan, offering a scenic view of the Subrahmanya Ghat section of the Western Ghats. It will also achieve a seamless link from Bangalore through Kunigal, Hassan, Sakleshpur, to Bantwal, and finally reach Mangalore.

The route comprises several interconnected regions, improving access to areas that could not be reached before and opening up new possibilities for development along the corridor.  The design of the expressway gives primacy to efficiency while navigating through many different landscapes, including tough terrain in the Western Ghats.

Bangalore Mangalore Expressway Districts List

The six districts along the expressway are listed below:

Route Comparison: Existing NH75 vs Proposed Expressway

Bangalore Mangalore Expressway DPR Bidder

The following firms have placed bids for preparing the DPR:

• AICONS Engineering

• Chaitanya Projects Consultancy

• Consulting Engineers Group

• Egis India Consulting Engineers

• Lion Engineering Consultants

• L N Malviya Infra Projects

• Monarch Surveyors and Engineering Consultants

• SA Infrastructure Consultants

• Theme Engineering Services 

Bangalore Mangalore Expressway Project Cost

The total estimated cost for the Bangalore-Mangalore Expressway will be finalised after the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR)

Project Timeline

Benefits

The following are the benefits of the project: 

• Reduce Railway Congestion: A greenfield expressway connecting to NMPT would shift to Karnataka's iron ore export industry back to road, reducing railway congestion on the Bangalore-Mangalore rail line and offering exporters shorter and faster delivery cycles. 
  

• Boost Tourism: The expressway passes through some of India's most celebrated landscapes, Hassan's Hoysala temples (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Chikkamagaluru's coffee estates, Sakleshpur's trekking zones, and Dakshina Kannada's coastal beaches and backwaters. It overall boosts tourism by making coastal travel easier.
  

• Reduces Travel Time: Currently, it takes approximately 6-7 hours to travel from Bangalore to Mangalore. Upon completion of the expressway, the travel time will be reduced to 3-4 hours. 
  

• Reduce Travel Distance: The Bangalore-Mangalore Expressway will reduce travel distance from 416 km to approximately 335 km. 
  

• Provides Smooth Travel: The expressway ensures safe & smooth travel by offering a modern high-speed corridor with better design standards than the existing route.

Conclusion

The Bangalore-Mangalore Expressway is a four-lane project to be constructed between Bangalore & Mangalore. The 335 km-long expressway is a key infrastructure project, transforming connectivity between Karnataka’s capital region and its coast. Upon its completion, the expressway is expected to reduce travel time, improve safety & freight efficiency, and support tourism, trade, and regional economic growth along the corridor.

Towns and districts located on or near the alignment could see stronger real estate interest, better business connectivity, and more investment in supporting infrastructure over time. It may also help strengthen the relationship between inland Karnataka and the coastal economy by making travel and transport more predictable and efficient. 

Overall, the expressway could become one of the most important road links in southern India, improving connectivity while also supporting broader economic and social development across the region. 

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