DPR for semi-ring road project likely to be finalised by end of August

The detailed project report (DPR) for the semi ring road, which would connect major national highways around Tiruchi, is likely to be finalised by the end of August.

Preparation of the DPR by the consultancy appointed for the purpose is in advanced stage, according to sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

With the commissioning of the integrated bus stand at Panjapur, off the Chennai-Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway, the execution of the long-delayed semi ring road project is eagerly awaited. The NHAI too, the sources said, was keen on awarding the tender for the project this financial year.

The project includes the construction of an elevated corridor near the integrated bus terminus. The elevated corridor will cater to the through-traffic on the highway. The NHAI had decided to draw a combined DPR for widening the two-lane bypass between Thuvakudi and Panjapur into a four-lane way and building a four-lane bypass between Panjapur and Thindukarai on Tiruchi-Karur National Highway, besides the elevated corridor.

Once completed, the nearly 45-km long bypass will become a part of a semi ring road from Thuvakudi to Thindukarai via Mathur and Panjapur, connecting the five national highways leading to Thanjavur, Karaikudi, Madurai, Dindigul, and Karur. The entire section will be an access-controlled highway for high-speed vehicular traffic, with regulated ingress and egress.

The Panjapur-Thindukarai bypass had faced uncertainty for years although work on this stretch was initiated 15 years ago as part of the widening of the Tiruchi-Karur section by the NHAI. The work was halted in 2010 after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court struck down the project as the proposed road cut across Kothamangalam, Kallikudi, and Punganur irrigation tanks in Tiruchi district. The court ordered that the road be laid without affecting irrigation sources. Subsequently, a new alignment was finalised, which caused delay in reviving the project.

At present, a DPR consultant is working on making some changes required on this bypass section. The NHAI is expected to float a tender for the project later this year, the sources said.