No mention of rivers in the Detailed Project Report 

Mysuru: The 119-km Mysuru–Bengaluru Highway (NH-275) has been constructed over five major rivers, with the road running on elevated bridges across these water bodies. Yet, not a single name board on the access-controlled stretch identifies the rivers. Even on the bridges themselves, there are no signboards to indicate their names to travellers.

Opened to traffic in March 2023, the highway prominently displays destination and place name boards but omits any mention of the major and minor rivers it crosses. In contrast, older national highways and railway bridges routinely display such signage, informing commuters about the water bodies they are approaching or crossing. The absence of these identifiers has drawn concern from travellers and locals, who view them as vital for geographical reference, cultural recognition and even educational awareness.

Sources within the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have attributed this omission to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which reportedly did not include the river names. This oversight went unnoticed during construction and commissioning, leading to the present lapse.

Travelling from Mysuru towards Bengaluru, the first place is Paschimavahini, where there is a confluence (Sangama) of River Cauvery at Srirangapatna. Shortly thereafter, the highway crosses the main River Cauvery in all its splendour within Srirangapatna town limits, followed by the Lokapavani River on the town’s outskirts. Further along, motorists cross the Shimsha River near Maddur and the Arkavathi River at Ramanagara. In addition to these five major rivers, the highway also traverses several smaller rivers and streams, none of which are identified with name boards.

Practice widely followed

While there is no strict legal mandate requiring the display of river names on highway bridges in India, the practice is widely followed and strongly recommended under engineering standards and governance principles.

The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines, for instance, call for bridge name boards that display the river or canal name, bridge identification number and relevant structural details, helping ensure standardisation and public utility.

Similarly, manuals and standard drawings issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for National Highways promote uniform signage, including naming the water bodies that bridges cross.

Displaying river names serves several important purposes. It aids navigation and emergency response by allowing travellers, emergency services and logistics operators to identify locations quickly.

It also fosters public awareness and a sense of regional identity by connecting infrastructure to local geography. Additionally, such signage helps in maintenance and audits by facilitating bridge inspections, record-keeping and accountability in infrastructure management.

‘Will install river name boards’

I have recently taken charge as NHAI Project Director and have no information on why river name boards were not installed on the Mysuru–Bengaluru Highway. Thousands travel on this highway daily and they deserve to know the rivers it crosses. I will raise this in my review meeting and take steps to install boards for all major and minor rivers.                                      

—Milind Wabale, Project Director, National Highways Authority of India