DPR for 4-laning Krishnagiri-Tindivanam stretch of NH-77 in the offing

CHENNAI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will prepare a detailed project report to widen the two-lane Krishnagiri-Tindivanam stretch of NH 77 into a four-lane to accommodate the increasing traffic and reduce accidents.

NHAI has invited bids to appoint a consultant to prepare the DPR for the four-laning of the existing two-lane Krishnagiri-Tindivanam stretch of NH 77 with paved shoulders.

The 182-km-long Krishnagiri-Tindivanam highway two-lane works were completed only last year, with the NHAI notifying the user fee plazas at Nangilikondan, Kariyamangalam, and Nagampatti.

The two-lane works began in 2012 and faced inordinate delay after the concessionaire abandoned the project due to the escalation of the cost of raw materials. The cost of the two-lane project is Rs 624 crore.

A senior NHAI official said that with the opening of the two-lane highway, the traffic has increased on the stretch which provides interstate connectivity. “The traffic is heavy during the festival time as the highway connects important pilgrim centres like Tiruvannamalai and Melmalayanur near Gingee. The increase in the traffic on the two-lane roads has also led to an increase in accidents, particularly, head-on collisions. So widening the two-lane road into a four-lane with a median has become a necessity to improve road safety,” he said.

According to the NHAI data, Nangilikondan, and Nagampatti toll plazas which were designed for a capacity of 9,027 passenger car units (PCUs) and 9,574 PCUs witness a daily traffic of 9,218 PCUs and 6,656 PCUs respectively. Meanwhile, the toll plaza at Kariyamangalam on NH 77 witnesses daily traffic of 9,149 PCUs as against its designed capacity of 11,324 PCUs.

The official said that the consultant to be appointed for the preparation of the DPR would be given a time frame of 1.5 years to complete the report. The land acquisition for the four-laning works would take three years to complete, the official added.