CHENNAI: The long-pending demand of the Vellore residents is set to get fulfilled soon with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently approving the proposal to construct a 20.4-km western ring road (bypass) for Vellore city.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on ‘X’ that Rs 753 crore has been sanctioned for the four-lane bypass, which aims to ease congestion.
The proposed road will enable the motorists travelling from Chittoor, Katpadi, V Kota, Latteri, and Vaniyambadi to have access to the medical college hospital at Adukkamparai, as well as to Arani and Tiruvannamalai, without requiring to pass through Vellore city.
The new bypass will also improve connectivity for vehicles travelling from Villupuram, Kalasapakkam, and Arani to Bengaluru, Chittoor, and Gudiyatham, bypassing Vellore city entirely.
The Vellore-Tiruvannamalai highway receives a high volume of traffic from Chittoor, especially during Girivalam and other religious occasions. The bypass may reduce the travel time by 30 to 45 minutes.
Gadkari stated that land acquisition process will be carried out with a right-of-way of 50 metres, instead of the usual 30 metres, allowing for future expansion into a six-lane carriageway with two-lane service roads, in line with IRC (Indian Road Congress) guidelines.
He also assured that adequate cross-drainage systems and bridge structures would be integrated, addressing concerns about the region’s history of severe flooding.
As per the proposal, the ring road will begin at Vandranthangal on NH75 (formerly NH 234) in the Katpadi-Latteri-Gudiyatham section and end at Sathumadhurai on NH 75 in northern Vellore, connecting to the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai-Villupuram highway. It will also intersect the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 48) at Poigai.
“The new road will not only provide faster access to Tiruvannamalai but also help ambulances from Gudiyatham, Katpadi, Latteri, and Pallikonda reach the Adukkumbarai GMCH more quickly,” said an official from the state highways department (NH).
Currently, the road from Katpadi to Adukkumbarai is a two-lane stretch (24 km) that narrows to a single lane due to encroachments as it passes through old Vellore city. Additionally, an official mentioned that the state highways is already constructing a 3-km bypass from Kangeyanallur (near VIT) to Sathuvachari.