The 80-km two-lane Thanjavur-Nagapattinam National Highway runs across the Cauvery delta region, connecting Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Velankanni, and Nagore, and attracts a huge volume of traffic round the year.
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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon build two overbridges on the Thanjavur-Nagapattinam National Highway (NH-83) in Tiruvarur town.Both the bridges are to be built to replace the existing ones, which have turned old and suffered damages, sources in the NHAI told The Hindu.“While one of the new bridges will come up near the Tiruvarur Railway Station, the other one would come up 2 km away. Adequate land is available for the construction of both the bridges,” the sources added.The two bridges on the “bypassed section of the Tiruvarur town” are to be built at a total cost of ₹77.67 crore and the tender had been floated for the project, the sources added. The bridges were scheduled to be completed within 18 months.Significantly, the NHAI has decided to build the overbridges on the Thanjavur-Nagapattinam National Highway even though it has decided to build a bypass around the town.In May this year, Union Minister for Highways and Road Transport Nitin Gadkari announced that a four-lane bypass would be built at a cost of ₹1,427.61 crore. The strategic project will strengthen connectivity between key industrial hubs such as Tiruchi and Coimbatore with the port towns of Karaikal and Nagapattinam, boosting regional economic activity, he had said then.It will run for a distance of 14.9 km from Thandalai to Adiyakkamangalam. It will pass through key locations such as Athipuliyur, Andipalayam, Kidaramkondan, Pallivaramangalam, Perumpugalur, Elavangarkudi, and Anaivadapathy Colony.Once completed, the bypass will significantly decongest Tiruvarur town, reduce travel time and enhance road safety by diverting traffic away from densely populated and commercial areas.The NHAI had floated a tender inviting bids for the project to be executed on hybrid annuity mode on design, build, operate, and transfer basis. According to the sources, tender process is in the advanced stages with the Letter of Intent having been awarded to the selected bidder and the agreement is expected to be signed soon.Although the bypass was originally envisaged as part of the strengthening of the Thanjavur-Nagapattinam NH executed a few years ago, the work was not taken up as the land acquisition was not complete then. The land acquisition has since been completed.The two-lane Thanjavur-Nagapattinam NH section had been strengthened in recent years. The nearly 80-km long highway runs across the Cauvery delta region, connecting major tourist destinations such as Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Velankanni, and Nagore, and attracts a huge volume of traffic round the year. Published - September 10, 2026 06:49 pm IST
