Rameswaram to Madurai set to be 4-lane stretch

The project was recently approved by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at New Delhi. The road from Madurai to Ramewsaram was a narrow stretch and there was a persistent demand from residents and various organisations to upgrade it into a four-lane road. 

The union government after conducting a study of the stretch some years back agreed to convert the 76-km stretch from Madurai to Paramakudi into a four-way track. However, it did not give its approval for the 39km distance between Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram, which is a rough terrain. 

Subsequently, two years ago the government approved widening of the 39 km stretch and four-laning the 60 km, but did not clear the stretch between Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram. In 2015, the centre allotted was Rs 937.08 crores for the 4-laning of Madurai-Paramakudi road and for widening of Paramakudi-Ramnad road. 

At present, 50 per cent of the works have been completed. Thus, the much awaited four-lane highway between Madurai and Paramakudi is expected to take shape soon. 

Meanwhile, as the four-laning of Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram road had not been approved, there was a constant demand from people of Rameswaram for upgrading the stretch. They had pointed out that it would help ease traffic on the busy section which witnessed heavy traffic round the clock.  

A petition was also filed in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court to extend the four-lane work. Based on the petitions the NHAI approved the extension of the upgrade of the road up to Rameswaram. A NHAI department official said following demands from various quarters, the Chairman of NHAI had approved the two projects recently. 

One is the four-laning of 60-km stretch from Ramanathapuram to Rameswaram and the other is the 39-km distance between Pamakudi and Ramanathapuram. Now the entire stretch of around 185 km from Madurai to Rameswaram would be four-laned, explained the official. The first phase of the work, between Madurai and Ramanathapuram, is expected to be completed by November this year.