Bengaluru’s big white-topping drive : 271 roads, 487 km to get a makeover

B-SMILE takes charge of city-wide white-topping, appoints 24 engineers, and sets a tight deadline to begin works on 271 roads spanning nearly 487 km.

Bengaluru’s white-topping works are set to get a major push as Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE), the city’s Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), has officially taken charge of all projects, including those already in progress. In a major move to speed up execution, B-SMILE has appointed nine executive engineers and 15 assistant executive engineers across ten zones of the five newly formed city corporations.

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Nearly 271 roads, covering a total of 487.22 km, will undergo white-topping soon. Bengaluru North Corporation leads with 96 roads (135.93 km) in Hebbal, Yelahanka, and Dasarahalli, followed by Central Corporation with 46 roads (81.1 km) in areas like Shantinagar and C.V. Raman Nagar, including the crucial 18 km Baiyappanahalli–Silk Board stretch. South, East, and West corporations will white-top 45, 44, and 40 roads respectively.

The SPV has also taken over ongoing works on 150 km, worth ₹1,700 crore, including the much-delayed 1.9 km J.C. Road stretch that has been a traffic nightmare. To streamline planning, engineers must complete surveys by September 14, submit reports the next day, and prepare detailed road inventories, Pavement Condition Index (PCI), and road histories. Only roads that have been asphalted at least twice will qualify for white-topping.

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Despite this massive expansion, B-SMILE faces an acute manpower crunch with an 85% vacancy in senior engineer posts, both Chief Engineer posts remain vacant, one Superintending Engineer post is unfilled, and 13 of 16 assistant engineer posts are yet to be occupied. Even as white-topping ramps up, the SPV is preparing to begin road construction along stormwater drain buffer zones to improve connectivity and reduce flooding.