Post-festive rush chokes Bengaluru–Mysuru highway, Tumakuru Road, NICE Road

Bengaluru witnessed severe traffic congestion on Thursday evening as thousands of vehicles poured into the city following the Christmas and New Year holidays, leading to massive queues at toll plazas on the Bengaluru–Mysuru access-controlled highway and Tumakuru Road.

The surge turned routine drives into long, slow crawls, with commuters reporting delays stretching into several hours despite the use of FASTag. Motorists returning to Bengaluru from holiday destinations such as Kodagu, Mysuru and Chikkamagaluru said the volume of traffic overwhelmed toll booths, creating bottlenecks that peaked late in the evening.

Toll plazas under strain

“Even with FASTag, it was stop-and-go for kilometres. What should have been a three-hour drive stretched to nearly five hours. There was hardly any movement near the toll plaza, and families with children were visibly exhausted,” said Raghavendra S., a software professional returning from Mysuru.

Commuters attributed the congestion to the simultaneous return of holidaymakers after an extended break. While electronic toll collection reduced manual delays, the sheer number of vehicles slowed processing and led to massive queues on approach roads, they said.

A senior traffic police officer from Kengeri said, “The long holiday triggered a sharp spike in inbound traffic. Anticipating this, we deployed additional personnel to ease movement. However, the volume exceeded normal weekend levels, causing unavoidable slowdowns.”

NICE Road adds to chaos

The situation was compounded on the NICE Road, particularly at the entry from Mysuru Road, where bumper-to-bumper traffic spilled over. Suresh Kumar, a commuter from Mysuru, said the congestion on NICE Road was similar to city traffic. “Earlier, it would take about 40 minutes from Mysuru Road to Bannerghatta Road via NICE Road. On Thursday, it took nearly one-and-a-half hours. After enduring highway jams, hitting another choke point was frustrating,” he said.

Traffic police officials said congestion was reported across key stretches in the city, including Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road, Yeshwanthpur, Jalahalli and the 8th Mile on Tumakuru Road.

A similar situation was witnessed last week, particularly on December 25, when a large number of Bengaluru residents travelled out of the city for holidays. Massive traffic snarls brought all major exit roads to a standstill, with key roads such as Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road and Old Madras Road choked by slow-moving outbound traffic as families and groups set off for their festive getaways.