Trumpet interchange at Sriperumbudur to connect Chennai-B’lore Expressway with NH4

CHENNAI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) proposed to construct a trumpet-shaped interchange, which helps provide a seamless movement of vehicles at an intersection of two highways, at Sriperumbudur.

The trumpet interchange would connect Bengaluru-Chennai Greenfield Expressway (BCGE) with Maduravoyal to the Wallajapet Section of NH48 near Sriperumbudur toll plaza.

The NHAI has floated a tender to construct the trumpet interchange at a cost of Rs 129 crore under the Bharatmala project.

NHAI Project Implementation Unit (Kancheepuram) project director Savithri Devi told DT Next that the contract under the engineering procurement construction mode would be awarded by June or July. She said that the land acquisition for the trumpet interchange was completed. "We are yet to take possession of the land," she added.

The vehicles entering and exiting the greenfield expressway to Bengaluru from Chennai would have to take the proposed trumpet interchange before the Sriperumbudur toll plaza. The 262 km Bengaluru-Chennai Greenfield Expressway commences at Hosakote near Bengaluru and ends at Sriperumbudur running a distance of 262 km via Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The entirely new alignment is being built in the 3 states under 10 packages to make sure that the works would be executed in the fixed time duration.

In Tamil Nadu, the greenfield expressway, which runs a distance of 106 km, is constructed under four packages – Gudipala (AP) to Walajahpet, Walajahpet to Arakkonam, Arakkonam to Kancheepuram and Kancheepuram to Sriperumbudu. "We have completed 25 per cent of the work in all the packages in the state. We hope to complete all the works by August 2024 with the cooperation of the state government," the official said.

The fully access-controlled expressway will be a four-lane facility initially and then would be widened to six-lane and eight-lane with an increase in the traffic volume. The expressway is designed for a vehicular speed of 120 km per hour.

What is trumpet interchange?

Trumpet interchanges have been used where one highway terminates at another highway. These involve at least one loop ramp connecting traffic either entering or leaving the terminating expressway with the far lanes of the continuous highway.