TIRUCHY: With the major roadblock in Tiruchy road overbridge finally coming to an end, residents and social activists are shifting their attention to the semi-ring road project which remains unfinished owing to lack of a nod from the Southern Railway.
The project was proposed around 2006 in a bid to reduce traffic in Tiruchy city. It proposed to connect five national highways such as Tiruchy-Karur, Tiruchy-Madurai, Tiruchy-Dindigul, Tiruchy-Pudukkottai and Tiruchy-Thanjavur. However, land acquisition has taken place at snail's pace and it took over 10 years to complete the road work between the Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Madurai highway.
However, a part of the semi-ring road which could save motorists up to 20 km is yet to be thrown open for traffic, as a nod for a crucial railway bridge near Kumaramangalam is awaited for years. Residents have urged political leaders from the district to take action in this regard.
"Completion of this bridge can prove to be a game changer, as vehicles plying towards Tiruchy airport or Thanjavur from Madurai can easily save up to 19 km and avoid all the city traffic. We hope legislators understand the importance of the issue. Just like how the Tiruchy road overbridge nod was received from the Defence Ministry, we hope they take efforts to get clearance from the Southern Railway," said S Sakthivel, a native of Mandaiyur.
Tired of waiting for the Highways Department to complete the road works, motorists familiar with the route earlier this year started utilising the 12.7 km stretch between Mathur and Thuvakudi on the Pudukkottai and Thanjavur Highway. However, a similar attempt could not be taken up on the Thanjavur-Madurai stretch, owing to the incomplete bridge.
Shankar K, a lorry driver, said, "Once we started taking the Mathur-Thuvakudi stretch, it saved us from travelling in a lot of traffic. We will be very happy to utilise the remaining semi-ring road stretch as it can save us a lot of time. For a long time, the high-level bridge over the Koraiyur river and railway bridge have been pending. Now, the authorities have finally completed the high-level bridge. We hope the railway bridge work also ends soon."
When contacted, a senior NHAI official said, "We are in the final stages of getting the nod from the Southern Railway. The Railway has asked for certain specifications in the bearings used in it and we are finalising talks to produce them. We hope to produce the bearings and complete the construction of the railway bridge by May 2022."