Pay Toll For Doddaballapur-Hoskote Section Of Bengaluru's Satellite Town Ring Road Starting November 17

Commencing November 17, commuters using the Doddaballapur-Hoskote segment of the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) will be subjected to toll charges. The 288-km STRR is under construction to connect Bengaluru with neighboring towns like Dobbspet, Devanahalli, Hoskote, and Ramanagara. Once fully operational, it aims to divert long-distance commercial vehicles away from Bengaluru, allowing traffic between satellite towns to bypass the city. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) oversees this Rs 17,000-crore project in 10 packages, with the Doddaballapur bypass-Hoskote section (34.15 km) already completed, featuring four lanes capable of handling 10,000 Passenger Car Units (PCU) per hour.

Toll charges for this section were officially notified in the Gazette of India on November 2 and subsequently approved by NHAI on November 9. Rates for light motor vehicles are set at Rs 70 for a one-way trip and Rs 105 for a round trip within 24 hours, while buses and trucks will pay Rs 240 and Rs 360, respectively. Toll collection will take place at the Nalluru toll plaza near Devanahalli until March 31, 2024, as confirmed by KB Jayakumar, Project Director at NHAI Bengaluru. Two-wheelers are exempt from toll charges, although the NHAI will enforce penalties for reckless driving, particularly wheelies.

Notably, the STRR will feature Karnataka's first boothless toll plaza, eliminating manned toll counters. Instead, vehicles will have their number plates and weights scanned within 50 meters of the toll plaza. FASTag users with compliant details will experience seamless passage as the boom barrier opens automatically. Those without FASTag will need to take an alternate route to pay tolls in cash. Vehicles exceeding 105% of their permissible weight will face a tenfold penalty and must unload before proceeding, according to Jayakumar.

The Dobbspet-Doddaballapur section (42 km) is 90% complete, slated for readiness in January 2024, with toll collection starting in February. Meanwhile, construction progress on the Hoskote-Tamil Nadu border section (21 km) stands at 13%, and the TN border-Obalapura stretch (179.93 km) is either under construction or in the bidding process.