Sadahalli Junction underpass work set to begin on Bengaluru airport road

Barricades have gone up at Sadahalli Junction, where the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is preparing to build a 750-metre, six-lane underpass on Ballari Road towards Kempegowda International Airport.

The ₹35 crore project is intended to remove the only traffic signal on the main carriageway between Hebbal and Sadahalli, a 22-km stretch. More than 1.1 lakh vehicles pass through the nearby Sadahalli toll plaza each day.

NHAI has awarded the contract, and the contractor is mobilising workers and machinery. The agency plans to begin excavation in phases after building retaining structures. It will first take up two lanes of the main carriageway while retaining space for moving traffic. NHAI expects the work to take about a year.

Traffic police have approved diversions at the junction. They will be introduced once construction begins, changing lane arrangements for airport-bound commuters around Sadahalli.

NHAI had considered an overpass at the junction about a decade ago. An underpass proposal taken up in 2019 was later shelved over design-related and other issues.