10 years on, Tiruchy semi-ring road work to resume by May

The 48-km stretch would start from Thuvakudi and end at Jeeyapuram with two parts — Thuvakudi-Panchapur (18 km) and Panchapur–Jeeyapuram (25 km) along with a Rail over Bridge at Mathur  — started in 2009. It was put on hold after the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC stayed the works in 2010 on a petition by farmers who claimed waterbodies were at the risk as the road cut across Kothamangalam, Kallikudi and Punganur lakes.

“Now, the hurdles have been cleared. Land acquisition for a few spots is yet to be made. The administration has planned to organise a public hearing in the first week of April through which, the acquisition process for smaller areas would be done smoothly. The works would commence within weeks after acquiring the land,” Collector K Rajamani said. 

The project has been planned on a Build Operate and Transfer basis, and it would significantly cut the travel time to Karur from Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Dindigul and Madurai. The road from Thuvakudi would reach Jeeyapuram via Mathur, Panchapur, Thayanur, Pulivalam and finally Jeeyapuram. 

Presently, the 80-km Tiruchy-Karur stretch takes at least 2 hours due to risky narrow roads up to Jeeyapuram. From Thuvakudi to Karur, it takes over three hours. It would be cut to one hour once the project is completed.

Similarly, once, the semi-ring road becomes operational, a large number of vehicles proceeding towards the airport and heavy vehicles approaching BHEL can avoid the city limits reducing traffic congestion.