TN plans Rs. 1,100-cr road upgrade projects

In its quest to build world-class road connectivity in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to widen major roads from four lanes to six lanes and will also build 80 bridges at a combined cost of Rs. 1,100cr, Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa announced recently, elaborating that the government has decided to invest Rs. 215-cr to complete the bridge building projects, which also included the cost of land acquisition. Similarly, Thorappakkam - Pallavarm and Chennai-Chittoor-Bengaluru roads will be widened into six-lane at an investment of Rs. 744cr. In regard to other projects, one bridge each will be built in the Nilgris, Tiruvallur, Vellore, and Tiruvannamalai districts. Apart from this, Tiruvarur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Trichy, and Cuddalore districts will get two bridges each and also Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore districts will get three bridges each. Four new bridges will be built each in Namakkal, Erode, Dindigul, and Sivaganga districts and also Thanjavur and Salem will get five bridges each, and Pudukottai and Tuticorin will get eight bridges each and the entire cost of building bridges would be about Rs. 160cr. Highways and minor ports department would obtain loan from Nabard to take up the construction work of the bridges.