Though Thanjavur is well connected by road, the condition of many of these roads leaves much to be desired.
The Tiruchi to Thanjavur road has recently been made into a four-way national highway making travel a pleasure for commuters. However, the same cannot be said about the other national highways that run across the district . For instance, the road from Thanjavur to Kumbakonam, which is a part of the national highway 45C (Vikkiravandi to Thanjavur), is in a terrible state.
The tarred surface of the road has given away at many places and the road is full of potholes. It’s a road which has lot of turns and poor condition of the road makes the travel that much more uncomfortable.
Though work on covering the potholes is underway, the road requires major improvements.
Inquiries with the National Highways department reveal that a proposal for improving the road at a cost of Rs.5 crore is pending at the NHAI head office in Delhi. There is also a plan to four-lane the road from Vikkiravandi to Thanjavur.
People are eagerly awaiting the improvement of the road as it is an arterial facility that takes people to Chennai and other places. People are also eagerly waiting for the Thanjavur-Nagapattinam road to be converted into a four-lane one.
Recently said that a sum of Rs.9 crore has been allotted for improving the road. However, the road has to be made into a four-way one as a continuation from Tiruchi to Nagapattinam. The move will solve major traffic bottlenecks at Needamangalam.
Despite a plan to lay a bypass road, no steps have been taken in this regard. “Making the road a four-way is necessary as it is also a busy road with pilgrims visiting Velankanni and Nagore in Nagapattinam district. Oil tankers travel to Nagapattinam and Karaikal. With port managed by MARG, a private company at Karaikal, movement of goods by lorries and trucks is on the high in this road. Loads of fish are also being transported from Nagapattinam to Kerala.
Yet another national highway that cuts through Thanjavur district is the Perambalur-Manamadurai NH which is national highway 212. It has been improved till Thanjavur from Perambalur and the next phase from Thanjavaur to Manamadurai is yet to be completed.
A road overbridge is planned by the State highways department at Mariammankoil near Thanjavur. It has been proposed to construct the bridge at a cost of Rs.26 crore for a distance of one km. Meanwhile, Thanjavur municipality has taken up restoration of 47 BT roads in the municipal area under Tamil Nadu Under Urban Road Infrastructure Project 2012-13, 13 new cement roads also will be laid. All these works will be done at a cost of Rs.12 crore.
