COIMBATORE: The much-anticipated flyover at Singanallur junction in Coimbatore continues to face delays, with the National Highways wing of the State Highways Department yet to finalise a contractor despite floating fresh tenders over two months ago.
The project aims to ease persistent traffic congestion at the busy Singanallur junction along Trichy Road, one of the city's key entry and transit points connecting Coimbatore with L&T bypass, Sulur and the airport. However, progress has been slow, largely due to a lack of response from potential contractors.
Officials said tenders for the project had been floated five times in the past, but failed to attract bidders owing to concerns over financial viability. After revising the project's cost and design with approval from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), fresh tenders were floated in January this year. Yet again, the department received no bids, forcing an extension of the submission deadline.
"Contractors were initially given time until February 27 to submit bids. As there was no response, the deadline was extended till March 3," an official said. Even after the extension, the process of finalising the contractor remains incomplete.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior highways department official expressed optimism about moving forward this time. "We will certainly finalise the bids and entrust the work to a contractor this time. The technical bid evaluation is currently in progress. Once that is completed, eligible bidders will be shortlisted, and the contract will be awarded. We expect the construction to begin by June this year," the official told TNIE.
The proposed 2.4-kilometre flyover will stretch from Uzhavar Sandhai to the Jai Shanthi Theatre junction. The project proposed by the NH wing of the State Highways Department is estimated to cost Rs 170.82 crore, with Rs 116.77 cr allocated for construction, Rs 15.4 cr for land acquisition, and Rs 44.7 lakh for shifting utilities such as water pipelines, power cables, and communication lines.
Meanwhile, officials noted that land acquisition is required only for the construction of stormwater drains, allowing work to begin even before the acquisition process is fully completed. Once the project is awarded, the contractor will have 24 months to complete construction, along with a 10-year maintenance responsibility as per MoRTH norms.
The Singanallur flyover project was first proposed over six years ago and received central approval nearly five years ago. However, uncertainty surrounding the alignment of the proposed Coimbatore metro rail project caused prolonged delays, which were later sorted out.