The National Highways Authority of India is moving ahead with plans to transform the northern corridor of Bengaluru through a massive highway expansion project.

Following the successful linkage of the city's eastern areas to the Chennai expressway via Hoskote, NHAI is now preparing detailed project reports for connecting northern Bengaluru with the Vijayawada expressway.

According to a TOI report , the centrepiece of this development involves upgrading a 90 km stretch of the existing NH-44 between Bengaluru and Hyderabad into a 10-lane road.

The enhanced highway will feature a six-lane main carriageway running from Devanahalli in Karnataka through to Kodikonda in Andhra Pradesh.

At Kodikonda, this upgraded section will merge with the greenfield portion of the Bengaluru-Kadapa-Vijayawada expressway, which extends 342 kilometres to Muppavaram in Andhra Pradesh.

According to senior NHAI officials, the expressway project promises to cut journey times dramatically.

"Upgrading NH-44 for a length of 90 km from Devanahalli to Kodikonda is part of the expressway project. The existing four-lane highway will be expanded into a 10-lane road, with a six-lane main carriageway passing through Devanahalli, Chikkaballapura up to the Andhra Pradesh border and Kodikonda," the official was quoted as saying in the report.

Travel time between Bengaluru and Vijayawada is expected to drop from 11-12 hours to roughly 6-7 hours.

The draft project report should arrive by February, with road widening commencing at Kannamangala Gate near Devanahalli. NHAI already possesses most of the required land, though three locations still need railway overbridges.

The upgraded highway will integrate seamlessly with the existing Satellite Town Ring Road at Devanahalli, with a new cloverleaf interchange planned at Kodikonda.

Safety improvements are also underway. NHAI will install 1.5 metre barriers along 12.5 km and streetlights across 12 km between the trumpet interchange and Devanahalli, addressing concerns about rising accidents.