Major Road Expansion in Tamil Nadu: 963 KM of New Four-Lane Highways to Boost Traffic and Infrastructure

Chennai: It has been announced that four-lane highways will be built over a distance of 963 km in Tamil Nadu in the next two years. This will significantly improve road traffic in the state. At the same time, it is expected that the number of toll booths on national highways will rise from 72 to 90 due to the new roads.

Various roads are being expanded by both the central and state governments in Tamil Nadu. On one hand, the state government is widening roads in districts like Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, creating new foot courts, and introducing various changes such as new decorative structures along the roads.

These projects are being implemented at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,000 crore by the Tamil Nadu State Highways Department and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The 963 km national highway projects are being developed rapidly. It is expected that 767 km of these roads will be operational in the next 12-15 months. Most of these projects are already 60-70% completed. The National Highways Department has announced that the green corridor road from Bodinayakanur (Theni) to Usilampatti (Madurai) will soon be expanded to a four-lane road. Additionally, NHAI has issued a tender to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the expansion of the 138 km-long four/six-lane road on the Dindigul-Theni-Kumuli National Highway (NH-183).

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to expand the Pallavaram GST road. The state highways department will spend Rs. 15.7 crore for this purpose, and it is expected to reduce traffic congestion from Kindi to Tambaram. Recently, the government constructed an overbridge at a cost of Rs. 82 crore at the intersection of Shanthai Road and Kundrathur Road on the GST Road. This bridge, though 12 meters wide and 1.5 km long, is a one-way road, meaning it only allows traffic from Tambaram to Kindi. As a result, traffic congestion occurs on the opposite route towards Pallavaram-Korambet, and this is why the Tamil Nadu government has decided to expand the Pallavaram GST road. The government has also been trying to acquire land for this purpose, which belongs to the security forces.

The work on the 131.9 km four-lane road from Dindigul to Pollachi is mostly completed. Recently, the Ottanchathram-Madathukkulam section was finished. The remaining sections, Kamalapuram (Dindigul) to Ottanchathram and Madathukkulam to Pollachi, are nearing completion, and toll booths at Paari Patti and Komangalam will soon be opened. The final tender for the Vikramavandi road, which runs from Chennai to Thanjavur via Vikramavandi, has been issued after a delay of six years. Work is expected to be completed soon, ending the poor condition of the road, which had been one of the worst in India. The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is expected to intensify work on these roads after his inspection. Last week, the delay in completing the Vikramavandi-Kumbakonam-Thanjavur national highway construction was reviewed, attracting attention. This project will provide significant infrastructure development for the delta region. It will be a key route for the development of districts like Villupuram, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Thiruvarur, and Thanjavur.

This project, which was supposed to be completed by September 2020, has not yet been finished. The central government acknowledged that the full project has been delayed due to several reasons, including the Gaja cyclone, the COVID-19 pandemic, and delays in financial allocations. Most importantly, delays in land acquisition have caused problems in setting up the road infrastructure.