Widening of the Neelambur bypass in Coimbatore district is a long-pending demand of the road users.
| Photo Credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that took over the Neelambur bypass in Coimbatore district about six months ago from Larsen and Toubro is in the process of finalising the detailed project report to widen the bypass.
An official of the NHAI told The Hindu that a ₹ 1,800 crore project to widen the 26.2 km road into a six-lane is to be finalised shortly. “The bids will be invited before the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu,” the official said.
The plan is to convert the stretch into an access-controlled, totally safe road with six lanes of main carriageway, paved shoulders, service road, flyovers, under pass and road over bridges.
The two-lane road now has 45 metres right of way space and this will be used to widen the existing road. Nearly 50 acres will be acquired for construction of the flyovers and underpasses. The plan is to have two major flyovers – at Trichy road junction and Pollachi road junction; road over bridge across the railway crossings at Chettipalayam and Irugur; and smaller structures where the rural roads intersect the bypass.
The road currently has one toll plaza at Madukkarai and it is likely to be retained. However, the Central government is yet to finalise if the project will be taken up under the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode or not. The project will take off when the financial details are finalised, the official said.
Motorists and associations in Coimbatore have been calling for widening of the road, which sees a large number of accidents.
Published – December 13, 2025 08:40 pm IST
