To reduce burden on the existing NH-4, which is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral between Bengaluru and Pune, the Union Transport ministry has decided to build another national highway to link both the cities involving ₹40,000 crore investment. The project will reduce the distance between Bengaluru and Pune by 75 km. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari informed that the 699-km long new national highway connecting both the cities will pass through the drought-prone areas of Satara and Sangli districts in Maharashtra. To minimize flood effect when several parts of the existing 775-km NH submerge in floodwater during the monsoon season. The new highway will be designed in such a manner that at no point in time any part of it will get flooded. In recent times, the traffic on NH-4 got hampered on multiple stretches, particularly between Belagavi and Kolhapur. The NH-4 is one of the busiest national highways in the region and a new highway between Bengaluru and Pune would come as a huge relief to commuters, especially during the rainy season. In Karnataka, the proposed national highway will pass through Belagavi, Bagalkot, Gadag, Koppal, Bellari, Davanagere, Chitradurga, and Tumakuru districts.
