NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
The National Highway roads serve as through corridors for the movement of people and freight across State capitals, major ports, industrial areas and connects to popular tourist destinations of the nation. These roads are therefore subjected to heavy traffic intensity.
The length of National Highways in the State of Tamil Nadu is 4994 km out of which 1985 km are maintained by National Highways wing and the balance 3009 km are maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The Tamil Nadu National Highways wing is headed by Chief Engineer who administratively controls four circles and eight divisions.
The works such as improvements, widening the carriageway to two lane / two lane with paved shoulders / four lane / multi-lane, strengthening, construction of bridges and maintenance works are being carried out by this wing.
Major functionaries of the National Highways :
National Highways Works
- Plan Works
- Non-Plan Works like Periodic Renewal (PR) / Improvement of Riding Quality Program (IRQP)/ Special Repairs (SR)
- Flood Damage Restoration Works (FDR)
Centrally Sponsored Scheme works
- Revamped Central Road Fund Scheme (RCRF).
- Inter State Connectivity Scheme (ISC) & Economic Importance (EI) Scheme.
- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
National Highways works
The National Highways works comprises of Original and Maintenance works which are exclusively funded by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H), Government of India.
National Highways-Original Works
Under Annual Plan, 25 road works for a length of 292.08 km and 14 bridge works have been completed during 2018-19. The expenditure incurred is Rs. 883.96 Crore. In the financial year 2019-20, 54 works for a length of 283.86 km amounting to Rs.1984.88 crore was taken as spillover. Out of which, 9 works of length 69.15 km have been completed at an expenditure of Rs.327.79 Crore.
The following are a few major works which have been completed / under implementation in plan works.
Completed projects:
| Sl.No. | Detail of Projects | Amount(Rs. in crore) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Construction of flyover at Marthandam and Parvathipuram in NH 47 (Kerala/Tamil Nadu Border – Kanniyakumari road) | 314.02 |
| 2 | Widening to four lane with paved shoulders in km 0/0-31/8 of NH 381 (Avinashi - Tirupur - Avinashipalayam road) | 162.72 |
| 3 | Construction of paved shoulder in km 81/0 – 202/6 of NH 234 (Mangalore – Villupuram road) | 268.92 |
| 4 | Strengthening from Km 170/0-172/0,176/0-180/0, 191/0-198/0, Km 206/0-211/400,212/400-227/8 & 256/0-265/800 including Reconstruction of Minor bridge at Km 177/2, 202/2,215/8 & 221/10 of NH 209 | 49.06 |
| 5 | Widening to 4-lane and strengthening from 63/0 to 64/0 & strengthening of existing carriageway from km.60/8 to 63/0 of NH-45A | 18.03 |
Projects under implementation :
| Sl.No. | Detail of Projects | Amount(Rs. in crore) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Widening & Strengthening from 2 lane to 2 lane with paved shoulder in km 0/0 - 38/0 of NH 383(Dindigul-Natham section) | 240.38 |
| 2 | Widening & Strengthening from 2 lane to 2 lane with paved shoulder in km 38/0 – 51/770 of NH 383(Natham - Kottampatty section) | 69.73 |
| 3 | Widening existing 2 lane to 2 lane with 1.5m paved shoulder from km.0/000-23/100 & 29/250-47/400 and strengthening existing carriageway from km.23/100-29/250 (Gudiyatham bypass) & from km.47/400-56/00 (Vellore bypass) on NH 234 | 138.06 |
| 4 | Widening from 2 lane to 4 lane and strengthening in km 36/0 – 80/0 of NH 179A (Salem – Tirupathur – Vaniambadi road) | 297.55 |
| 5 | Construction of fly-over at km 15/2 of NH49E (Madurai Kamaraj University) | 52.04 |
The MoRT&H, has allocated Rs.1012.00 Crore under Annual Plan 2019-20. This includes improvement of 240.02 km length of road at a cost of Rs.778.90 Crore and 23 bridge works for Rs.305.41 Crore.
Periodical Renewal (PR)/ Improvement of Riding Quality programme (IRQP) Works
In 2018-19, 3 no. of works for improvement of 22.50 km has been completed at a cost of Rs. 18.51 Crore. In 2019-20, 2 spill over works to a length of 13.25 km are completed at an expenditure of Rs.6.94 crore. In 2019-20, 8 road works to a length of 53.952 km for an amount of Rs. 48.77Crore have been sanctioned by the Ministry and will be taken up for implementation. Subsequently, 3 road works of length 41.51 km amounting to Rs.39.26 Crore have been proposed for approval.
Rectification of Black Spots
The Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has formulated Road Safety cell (Engineering) and communicated a list of 100 no. of identified black spots in Tamil Nadu based on the fatalities during 2011, 2012 &2013.
Total no. of black spots - 100 nos.
i) With NHAI - 80 nos.
ii) With state NH - 20 nos.
All the 20 nos. of black spots pertains to State NH wing have been rectified.
In June 2019, the Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had communicated 1337 black spot location in Tamil Nadu state which includes 846 no. of black spot locations in National Highways stretches. Of this, 580 locations are under the maintenance of NHAI, 35 locations are under the control of Construction & Maintenance wing, 2 locations are under control of TNRSP, 3 locations comes under Pondicherry limit and 224 black spot locations have been identified on the NH stretches under the maintenance of State NH wing. In addition, 13 no. of black spot locations are added to state NH wing on account of newly declared NH.
The Ministry has allocated sanction ceiling of Rs.500.00 Cr exclusively for road safety works for the year 2019-20 for the entire nation. The black spots are accordingly prioritized and proposals are being formulated.
Centrally Sponsored Schemes :
The Central Government created Central Road Fund as a non-lapsable fund under Central Road and Infrastructure Fund Act, 2000, which is procured out of the cess/tax imposed on the consumption of petrol and diesel. Funds are distributed to the State for developments of Roads. The accrual of funds is distributed to the States annually, on the basis of 30% weightage to fuel consumption and 70% weightage to the geographical area of the State.
In CRF and Bharat Nirman (maintenance fund), an expenditure of Rs.605.25 crore has been incurred during 2018-19. Moreover, an allocation of Rs.805.03 crore has been made for implementation under centrally sponsored schemes during 2019-20.
Revamped Central Road Fund Scheme (RCRF) :
Under RCRF Scheme, 147 road works to a length of 1290.64 km and 15 bridge works at cost of Rs. 2517.08 crore were taken up in this financial year 2019-20 as spill over. Of this, 85 road works with 701.23 km and 1 bridge work have been completed at an expenditure of Rs. 763.36 Crore till November 2019.
The important projects are as follows,
List of projects to decongest the traffic in and around the important cities of Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore
| Sl.No. | Detail of Projects | Amount(Rs. in crore) |
|---|---|---|
| i. Chennai sub-urban: | ||
| 1 | Widening of Walajabad - Sunguvarchatram - Keelachery road km 0/0-19/6 | 121.65 |
| 2 | Widening of Elichur - Palur Road from km 0/0 - 8/6 | 41.80 |
| 3 | Widening of Kodampakkam - Sriperumbudur Road km 13/2 - 28/8 | 132.00 |
| 4 | Widening of Chengalpattu - Thiruporur road from km 0/0 - 21/8 | 126.75 |
| 5 | Widening of Guduvanchery - Kottayur road from km 0/0 - 17/6 | 76.87 |
| ii. Madurai city: | ||
| 6 | Construction of Vaigai River Bank Road | 303.59 |
| 7 | Four Laning the Old Austinpatti Road in km 0/0 - 2/0 | 21.20 |
| iii. Coimbatore city: | ||
| 8 | Construction of fly over at Ramanthapuram Junction &Sungam Junction in Coimbatore City | 244.79 |
| 9 | Construction of fly over Goundampalayam Junction in Coimbatore City) | 64.00 |
| 10 | Construction of fly over GN Mills Junction in Coimbatore City | 40.00 |
The aim of the above projects is to decongest the burgeoning vehicular traffic along NH-45 (suburbs of Chennai city), Madurai & Coimbatore city by widening and improving the feeder roads and construction of fly-overs.
Inter State Connectivity Scheme (ISC) :
Under Interstate Connectivity scheme, 5 works of length 62.00 km have been completed at an expenditure of Rs.66.28 crore during 2018-19 and 1 work is in progress.
For the year 2019-20, 4 road works of 29.25 km length amounting to Rs. 96.76 Crore is under consideration of GoI for sanction of funds.
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY):
Apart from above, the Central Government provides fund for improving Rural Roads under PMGSY Scheme. PMGSY has been launched by the GoI for providing connectivity to unconnected habitations as part of poverty alleviation. The requisite funds for the scheme are derived from the accrual under CRF Cess. The GoI endeavours to set-forth high and uniform technical standards and facilitate policy development at State level to ensure continuous maintenance of the rural road network. The works have been taken-up in a phased manner under this scheme. The works of PMGSY-I & PMGSY II are completed in all respects and are in maintenance stage.
WORKS TAKEN-UP IN NHAI ROADS BY STATE NH :
Widening of NH-45 between Irumbuliyur and Vandalur
In order to address the huge traffic congestion in Chennai Suburban areas, as an immediate remedial measure, the work for widening between Irumbuliyur to Vandalur (2.30 km) to 8-lane standards, at a cost of Rs.20.77 crore has been got approved by the NHAI and the work is in progress.
Widening of NH-45 between Vandalur and Guduvanchery
As a sequel to the improvement works being taken-up between Irumbuliyur - Vandalur, improvements from Vandalur – Guduvanchery (5.3 km) at a cost of Rs.44.48 crore has also been approved by NHAI and the work is in progress.
Other Activities
SetuBharatam - Construction of ROB/RUBs in lieu of Level Crossings on National Highways
Setu Bharatam Scheme has been launched by MoRT&H, to replace Level Crossing with ROB/RUBs.
MoRT&H has engaged consultants for the preparation of DPR for the construction of 8 numbers of ROB/RUBs in Tamil nadu to replace existing level crossings on NH. Of the above, 6 DPRs are nearing completion and the remaining 2 DPRs belong to NHAI.
List of ROB/RUBs proposed under SetuBharatam Scheme
| Sl.No. | NH No. | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 Ext | km 22/2 (Near Checkkanurani) |
| 2 | 49 Ext | km 72/6-7 (Near Theni) |
| 3 | 49 Ext | km 93/4 (Near Bodi) |
| 4 | 208 | km 99/4 (Near TenkasiElanchi) |
| 5 | 234 | 103/4 (Polur – Mathimangalam) |
| 6 | 234 | km 81/6 of (Kannamangalam –Kaniyambadi) |
Improvement of upgraded National Highways :
Improvement of the following recently upgraded NH, taken-up in the Annual Plan are in various stages of implementation as follows
List of works in upgraded NHs
| Sl.No. | New NH No. | Section | Length(in km) | Amount (Rs. in crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 383 | Dindigul – Natham | 38.00 | 240.38 |
| 2 | 383 E | Natham – Kottampatti | 13.77 | 69.73 |
| 3 | 49 Ext | Salem – Tirupathur | 44.00 | 297.55 |
The stretch in km 80/0 – 125/0 of NH 179A will be taken-up for improvement in the ensuing Annual Plan at a cost of Rs.294.63 crore.
State Highways declared “In-Principle” as NH
The following in-principle NH roads have been taken-up for preparation of DPR:
Table : List of State Highways declared “In-Principle” as NH
| Sl.No. | Name of State Road | Length (in km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiruvannamalai - Kallakurichi road | 65.00 |
| 2 | Vallioor - Thiruchendur road | 70.00 |
| 3 | Kollegal-Hanur-MM hills-Palar road – Tamil Nadu border extended uptoMettur in Tamil Nadu | 30.00 |
| 4 | Mettupalayam-Bhavani road | 98.00 |
| 5 | Avinashi-Mettupalayam road | 38.00 |
| 6 | Bhavani-Karur road | 77.00 |
| 7 | Palani-Dharapuram Road | 31.00 |
| 8 | Arcot–Tindivanam road | 91.00 |
| Total Length | 500.00 |
Roads proposed for inprinciple declaration as NH
21 State roads to a length of 1497.40 km in two phases have been proposed for “In Principle” declaration for upgradation as NH as per table given below:
| Sl.No. | Nomenclature of road | Length (in km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ooty – Kothagiri - Mettupalayam (SH-15) | 42.40 |
| 2 | Abdullapuram-Thirupattur (SH-122) | 79.50 |
| 3 | Vellore - Ussoor (SH-207) | 8.00 |
| 4 | Thanjavur-Mannargudi-Thiruthuraipoondi-Vedaranyam-Kodiyakarai (SH-63) | 113.00 |
| 5 | Erode-Dharapuram (SH-83A) | 78.00 |
| 6 | Erode-Perundurai-Kangeyam (SH-96) | 51.00 |
| 7 | Sathi-Chittode-Erode (SH-15) | 62.00 |
| 8 | Palladam-Dharapuram (SH-174A) | 37.00 |
| 9 | Vatlagundu-Usilampatti-Peraiyur-Kallupatti-Kalligudi-Kariyapatti-Thiruchuli-Kamuthi-Sayalkudi (SH-154) | 161.00 |
| 10 | Thanjavur-Sivagangai-Sayalkudi (SH-29) | 257.00 |
| 11 | Aralvoymozhi-Nedumangadu (SH-45) | 49.00 |
| 12 | Sattur-Sivakasi-Kalugumalai (SH-187) | 38.00 |
| 13 | Ramanathapuram-Nainarkoil-Ilayangudi-Sivagangai-Melur (SH-34) | 98.00 |
| 14 | Aruppukottai-Valinokkam (SH-38) | 80.00 |
| 15 | Paruvakudi-Kovilpatti-Ettayapuram-Vilathikulam-Vembar (SH-44) | 92.00 |
| 16 | Bhavani-Kalingarayampalayam-Periapuliyur-Kavanthampadi | 27.00 |
| 17 | Gobichettipalayam-Kunnathur-Perumanallur | 33.00 |
| 18 | Namakkal-Thuraiyur | 48.00 |
| 19 | Musiri-Thuraiyur-Athur | 93.00 |
| 20 | Chennai ORR-SIPCOT-Sriperumpudur road (Part of SH 113 and SH110) | 17.50 |
| 21 | Thiruchengode-Mallasamudram-Ariyanoor (SH 86-A) | 33.00 |
| Total Length | 1497.40 |
Bus Ports :
With a view to improve the facilities for the passengers of public transport and augment with modern technological facilities, bus ports have been envisaged as a sub-component of National Corridors Efficiency Program Component of Bharatmala Pariyojana. The bus ports have been proposed at Salem, Madurai and Coimbatore.
Of this, the MoRT&H have accorded in-principle approval for construction of bus port at Salem. The field data collection viz., topographical survey soil investigation, bus count and passenger related survey has been done by NHIDCL, New Delhi by engaging consultant M/s DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multimodel transit system Ltd.,) and draft DPR prepared. The additional requirements in bus port has been informed to NHIDCL for inclusion in DPR. On finalisation, the Salem bus port work will be implemented.
The proposal for Busport at Madurai has been sent to NHIDCL for preparation of DPR.
Investigations are under way for the Bus Port proposals at Coimbatore. In this regard, the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is undertaking the preliminary activities in collaboration with the stake-holder, the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation.
Automation of Land Acquisition Process:
MoRT&H, in its attempt to move towards total e-governance and avoid delay, have developed a dedicated portal (BOOMI RASHI) for LA process. The portal functions as an e-platform for processing of LA related notifications and compensation to the affected parties thereto, for all National Highway projects. This portal is being utilized for uploading details of L¬A affected villages,e-verification by Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) and for notification by the Ministry.
Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) e-disha :
MoRT&H has developed a Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS), e-disha, a State-of-the-art, real time project tracking and monitoring system for the effective monitoring of all ongoing projects, key issues and interventions required at all levels. The system has customized user friendly dashboards for Senior Officers to review the progress. The system is currently being used to conduct daily monitoring of active projects across different stages of execution, viz.,
• To be awarded
• Under implementation
• Detailed Project Report stage
The State NH Wing is regularly updating the dynamic data of all on-going projects. Senior Officers of MoRT&H are conducting monthly/quarterly reviews through video-conferencing, fetching the data from the dashboard of this information system for taking requisite action.
E-OFFICE :
The MoRT&H, GoI with a view to digitize the entire office process has developed an application software “E-office” through which paperless governance is aimed. Already in application at the ministry level, steps are being taken to implement this E–initiative shortly. All necessary infrastructures, resources, training for staff are being planned.
