Asoor-Mathur bypass(Ring Road) work resumes

Thanks to Madras High Court’s intervention, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has resumed work on the bypass linking Asoor along the Tiruchi-Thanjavur Road with Mathur on Tiruchi-Pudukottai highway, as part of the Tiruchi-Karaikudi two-lane project, much to the relief of BHEL’s ancillaries at Mathur.

Last November, the State government ordered work on the project to be stopped apprehending loss of irrigation water sources.

The Rs. 404-crore project executed by Transstroy Ltd-OJSC Consortium, an Indo-Russian joint venture, under Build, Operate, Transfer (annuity) scheme, entails construction of bypass at four other places: Keeranur, Pudukottai, Tirumayam, and Karaikudi.

The High Court stay given last month for the State government’s restraining order has enabled the NHAI to fast-pace work on the link that will connect Panjapur on the Tiruchi-Madurai Highway as well, official sources said. In its stay order of interim injunction, the High Court ruled in favour of the NHAI.

The 25-km bypass in a semi-circle formation will reduce traffic congestion in the city considerably. Particularly, the bypass will be of convenience for the fabrication sector as ancillaries at Mathur will be better placed for transporting raw material and finished products to and from BHEL in a matter of minutes.

CONGESTED

At present, the material is transported along a circumlocutory TVS Toll Gate – Old Palpannai – Thuvakkudi route. The Palpannai – Thuvakkudi stretch is heavily congested. “There are a number of BHEL’s ancillaries in the SIDCO’s industrial estate at Mathur, and several new ones are to come up at the newly started industrial estate at Kumbakudi. Besides reducing transportation cost, the bypass will help in cutting down the duration of travel,” a partner of a fabrication unit at Mathur industrial estate.

The bypass will serve the BHEL’s Tiruchi unit better as there will be easy connectivity to the new unit at Thirumayam.

Air travellers of Delta region can reach the international airport easily.