Highways Secretary inspects road widening, ROB works in Vellore

An expert team led by the Principal Secretary of Highways Department assessed the quality of ongoing road widening and Road Over Bridge (ROB) works in Vellore town on Saturday.

Officials of the State Highways, which executes these multi-crore works, said that some of the major works that were assessed by the team included the ₹102.83-crore Outer Ring Road (ORR), and road overbridges (ROB) on the Katpadi – Tirupati rail line and a bowtring additional steel bridge at Katpadi railway station.

The team also inspected the ongoing railway bridge work that will replace the railway level crossing (LC 128) near Manga Mandi in Vellore’s Old Town area. “The works, especially for bridges, also involve Southern Railway. Most of these works will be ready for public use in the next few months,” S. Poovarasan, Assistant Engineer (AE), State Highways (Vellore), told The Hindu.

Principal Secretary of Highways Department Sung Chong Nam Zatak Siru inspected the ongoing road widening and bridge works near Katpadi in the presence of S. Palanivel, Chief Engineer (Construction & Maintenance), State Highways, M.A. Rajadurai, Superintending Engineer, State Highways (Vellore Circle), and M. Balaji and K. Sundar, Divisional Engineers.

“The additional steel bridge at Katpadi railway station should be completed at the earliest to decongest traffic flow on the route. Most of the schools and hospitals are located in the area,” said T. Sumathi, a resident.

Highways officials said that the team assessed quality of raw materials used for the work, total length and width of the stretches that are undertaken for work, thickness of bitumen layer, and quantity of blue metal used to level uneven spots of the stretches.

Mr. Siru emphasised on early completion of the ongoing road and bridge works due to the onset of Northeast monsoon. He also directed officials to take adequate measures to ensure zero waterlogging on roads, maintain pothole-free smooth road surfaces for hassle-free traffic, and undertake plantation and systematic maintenance of saplings along roadsides during monsoon.

At present, a bowstring Road overbridge at Katpadi railway station on Mangalore - Villupuram Highway (NH 75) is also under construction at a cost of ₹44.64 crore to ease traffic flow in the area.

The road overbridge that will replace the railway level crossing (LC 128) will be ready by December 2026. The ₹37-crore bridge will connect the central parts of Vellore town with the Chennai – Bengaluru National Highway (NH 48).