Plea to take up at least part of remaining ring road work

(File Photo)

As there has been no headway in completing the 46km semi-ring road project connecting five National Highways passing through Trichy, demands have been raised to complete at least a portion of the project from Thuvakudi (Trichy-Thanjavur stretch) to Mathur (Trichy-Pudukkottai stretch). Sources in NHAI said that the contractor entrusted with the project has abandoned works.
Of the 16km stretch from Thuvakudi to Mathur, about 3km is yet to be laid near the Thuvakudi side. Once completed, a large number of vehicles proceeding towards the airport and heavy vehicles approaching BHEL can bypass the city limits via the ring road.

The semi ring road project was floated by the government in 2007 to link five National Highways connecting Trichy with Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Pudukkottai, and Thanjavur districts. Though the entire stretches connecting the five NHs have their own constraints and hurdles to be address before becoming a reality, a portion of the semi-ring road project from Thuvakudi to Mathur is almost complete except for laying about 3 km road on the Thuvakudi end.
Since 2015, it is said that the portion of the semi-ring road near Thuvakudi end with a rugged surface was in a bad shape contrary to other parts of stretch till Mathur that offered convenient ride to users. "If the entire semi-ring road project is difficult to be completed, NHAI can at least try completing the Thuvakudi-Mathur stretch. The completion would be a big relief for heavy vehicles approaching and leaving BHEL facility and also for air passengers and officials coming from Trichy-Thanjavur stretch to bypass the city while reaching Trichy airport and Ordnance Factory situated on the Trichy-Pudukkottai stretch," said M Sekaran, member, district road safety council.
As the road is in a bad shape, road users from Thanjavur and other delta districts have to touch the city to reach Trichy Airport. Though the two lane road works started way back in 2012 and completed subsequently, completion of the stretch has been facing a lot of hurdles. Locals also added that provided the stretch was completed and made available for public, it would be an instigating factor for completing other four stretches of outer semi-ring road by comprehending and highlighting the patronage among users for the bypass road.
As the jurisdiction of Thuvakudi-Mathur stretch of semi-ring road project falls with the Karaikudi project implementation unit (PIU) under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). NHAI sources said that Karaikudi PIU has a vacant project director post, and is being additionally taken care by Madurai PIU. Several attempts to contact the in-charge project director for Karaikudi PIU went in vain.

Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/plea-to-take-up-at-least-part-of-remaining-ring-road-work/articleshow/61788744.cms