Tender for 1st phase of western ring road to be finalized soon

Coimbatore: The state highways department is all set to commence work on the western ring road soon. It is expected to finalize the tender to lay the road for a stretch of 11.8km in the first phase on March 17.
A state highways official said the western ring road project was proposed to reduce traffic congestion in Coimbatore. Under the project, he said, a four-lane road would be laid for a stretch of 32.43km from Mayilkal near Madukkarai to Narasimmanaickenpalayam.
The state government has sanctioned 845 crore for the project. Of this, 320 crore would be spent on land acquisition, he said.
According to a revenue department official, the project entails land acquisition from 15 revenue villages. “We have to acquire 296.27 acres for the western ring road project, which the state highways department is planning to implement in three phases. In the first phase, 98.84 acres is required to lay the road for 11.8km. The land acquisition is almost complete. The land was acquired on Mayilkal (Palakkad Road)-Madampatti (Siruvani Road) stretch at a cost of 108 crore.”
For the second and third phases, he said, land would be acquired on Madampatti-Somayampalayam stretch and Somayampalayam-Narasimmanaickenpalyaam stretch, respectively.
Another source with the state highways department said a tender was floated to lay the road in the first phase. “Many private firms have participated in the tender, which will be finalized on Thursday.”
He said road over-bridges would be constructed at important junctions as part of the project.
K Kathirmathiyon, secretary, Coimbatore Consumer Cause, said the revenue department should speed up the land acquisition at West Chithiraichavadi, Kalikkanaickenpalayam and Somayampalayam for the second phase of the project.
“This will help fast-track the road work. The western ring road will be useful for motorists, as they don’t have to enter the city to reach Mettupalayam Road from Palakkad Road,” he said.