Vellore
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials say the toll charge will come into force once work on constructing culverts at 66 locations over the road is completed by June end.
The Rs 250-crore project, which covers a total distance of 121 km in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram districts, was envisaged when the route was upgraded into a National Highway in 2009-10, a NHAI official told DT Next.
As of now, work has been completed on 50 culverts and the work was on at a feverish pace to meet the June 30 deadline.
The project includes a toll plaza near Tiruvannamalai with a total of 6 exits – three on each side to ensure smooth flow of traffic. The toll collection contract would be handed over for a period of four years, the official said. Another toll plaza will come up on the Villupuram-Tiruvannamalai stretch.
The official pointed out that commuting time between the two towns, which at present was taking around 90 minutes by a private vehicle and 120 minutes by government buses, would be reduced once the work was completed.
Locals were initially unaware of the Tiruvannamalai–Vellore road being taken over by the NHAI from the state government. However, they became suspicious when bypass roads were laid for Polur town panchayat, 50 km from Vellore, and for Tiruvannamalai town. The new roads have signages to assist drivers, especially at night.
When DT Next asked the official whether locals had expressed objection regarding the imposition of toll charges, engineers working on the section said, “Locals’ resistance, if any, will be known only after this stretch becomes operational.”
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