CHENNAI: The Union government’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has called for bids to construct a 20.492-kilometre-long four-lane bypass to Vellore town connecting NH-75 and NH-38 via State Highway-240.
According to the proposal, the bypass will begin at Vandranthangal on NH-75, which links Vellore to Krishnagiri and onward to Bengaluru, and end at Sathumadhurai on NH-38, which connects Vellore-Tiruvannamalai-Villupuram to Thoothukudi.
While most of the alignment follows a greenfield corridor, a 3.25-kilometre section will overlap with the existing State Highway (SH)-240. The bypass is expected to decongest the Vellore town area and improve regional connectivity from Villupuram, Kalasapakkam, and Arani to Bengaluru, Chittoor, and Gudiyatham, bypassing Vellore city entirely.
According ot the tender document, the project, estimated at Rs 498.14 crore, will be implemented under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model. The project will feature six culverts for drainage and one at-grade junction. The main carriageway will be designed for a speed of 100 km/h, while service roads on both sides will support a design speed of 40 km/h.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had posted on social media in April that Rs 752.94 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of the Vellore bypass. He said the new 4-lane bypass would link NH-75 and NH-38, and that it was designed to reduce traffic congestion in Vellore city.
The minister also stated that land for the project would be acquired with a 50-metre right-of-way (RoW), as opposed to the standard 30 metres, to allow for future expansion to a six-lane highway with two-lane service roads.
Additional features include solar-powered street lighting, truck lay-bys, bus shelters, signage, footpaths, and road safety infrastructure. MoRTH has confirmed that 90 per cent of the right of way will be handed over to the contractor on the appointed date to facilitate early mobilisation and completion of the road construction works within 24 months.