CHENNAI: Road travel to Hosur and Bengaluru from southern and western parts of Tamil Nadu will get shorter by 25 km soon.
On Monday, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) invited bids to widen the 71.11 km Dharmapuri - Hosur (Thorapalli) of the recently upgraded NH 844, into four-lane at the cost of Rs 1,331
crore. The present battered two-lane stretch earlier was part of the 101 km Malur - Hosur - Adhiyaman Kottai State Highways 71.
The proposed road project is to provide four-lane second entry to Hosur from Dharmapuri which so far had only one route via Krishnagiri.
Presently, motorists heading to Hosur and Bengaluru from Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode reach Salem, take Chengapalli (Coimbatore) - Salem NH 544 from where they travel to Krishnagiri on Salem - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri NH 44.
From Krishnagiri, motorists reach Hosur and Bengaluru via Sulagiri on Chennai - Bengaluru NH 48 (Old No. NH 4). Similarly, vehicles from Madurai, Tirunelveli, Sivakasi and other parts of southern
Tamil Nadu reach Hosur via Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.
"Once the proposed road is widened into four-lane, motorists from Salem can directly reach Hosur via Dharmapuri, Royakottai and Jittandahallim without entering Krishnagiri, thereby cutting the travel distance by 25 km," said official sources.
In addition, the proposed road project would also decongest the 51 km of Chennai - Bengaluru NH between Krishnagiri and Hosur.
"The Krishnagiri - Hosur stretch remains congested throughout the year as the road was the only gateway for Bengaluru and Hosur. The road also will reduce the travel distance to Hosur airport from
Salem," added sources.
According to official documents, the roadworks two will be executed in two packages under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase - I. While the 36.75 km Hosur (Thorapalli Agraharam) - Jittandahalli section is to be widened at the cost of Rs 709.72, the 34.36 km Jittandahalli -Dharmapuri road development is estimated to cost Rs 624.69 crore.
The land survey project has been completed and the Government has commenced preliminary works for land acquisition for the project, said officials. Surprisingly, the NHAI floated tenders without preparing a detailed project report.
"The bidder had to submit a drawing map for the road project, accordingly a detailed
project report will be prepared," added an NHAI official.
Fact file: