Even after the major bottleneck of land acquisition for Arumparthapuram Bypass Road has been overcome, construction of the road and connecting the western arm of the flyover on 100-Feet Road to the railway over bridge at Arumparthapuram in Villianur remains a non-starter.
Sources said there was no progress on the much awaited bypass road due to lack of approval from the government. Though the officials were wary of committing a specific time-frame for the commencement of the work, they said efforts were being made to begin the work “at the earliest.”
The bypass project was proposed by the Public Works Department (PWD) in 2010 to wean away out-bound traffic. Initially, the PWD had envisaged construction of the bypass road to a width of 100 feet when the project was announced. But with uncertainty looming large on the commencement of the project, the authorities reduced the proposed width of the bypass road.
An official said, “The project ran into controversy right at the start. The government had acquired the Right of Way for about 22 m on the stretch. A mud road was laid from the western arm of the flyover on 100-Feet Road for a distance of 2.25 km. But differences in fixing land acquisition prices for two revenue villages resulted in a few residents moving the court. The project was halted, and the issue was settled two years ago after the government settled ₹39 crore to the landowners.”
However, the delay in constructing the bypass road from John Paul Nagar on 100-Feet Road to the Thattanchavady electric sub-station was causing massive traffic congestion on Puducherry-Villupuram Road, though two flyovers were opened on 100-Feet Road and Arumparthapuram.
For the last few years, residents have been demanding early completion of the bypass work to ease traffic congestion in the city.
According to S. Kumaravel, a resident of Arumparthapuram, “The present road infrastructure is unable to handle the huge volume of traffic. Traffic jams have become the order of the day on Puducherry-Villupuram Road, and the number of road accidents, especially those involving two-wheelers, are on the rise.”
With the Cuddalore and Villupuram Roads already attaining high density of traffic besides triggering a spurt in new residential areas, authorities pointed out that the bypass project cannot be delayed any further.
“The bypass road has been planned at a cost of ₹36 crore. The road will have four lanes with median, and the proposal has been forwarded to the government for sanction. Tenders will be floated once the project gets sanctioned,” an official said.
Once finished, the bypass road is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion in the city. Vehicles going towards Villupuram from Marappalam will be diverted towards the bypass road. This will help reduce traffic jams at Indira Gandhi Square and other important city junctions, the official added.
