A team of experts inspects the ₹102.83 crore Outer Ring Road near Katpadi

Senior engineers of the State Highways Department inspect the ongoing work on the Outer Ring Road at Periyathur village on Wednesday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

An expert team comprising senior engineers from the quality control (QC) wing of the state highways department on Wednesday assessed the quality of the ongoing ₹102.83 crore outer ring road at Periyathur village.

Officials of the state highways department, which is carrying out the multi-crore work, said the new stretch will help decongest the areas around Katpadi railway station by diverting heavy vehicles to the new stretch to reach the Chennai-Bengaluru highway (NH 48) at Ranipet.

S. Raj Durai, Chief Engineer (SE), was accompanied by E. Dhanasekaran, Divisional Engineer (Quality Control), State Highways (Vellore) and R. Kameshwaran, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), State Highways. “The new ORR will decongest Katpadi and surrounding villages. The entire work will be completed by 2027,” S. Poovarasan, Assistant Engineer (AE), State Highways (Vellore), told The Hindu .

The team assessed the quality of the raw materials used, the overall length and width of the roadways, the thickness of the asphalt layer and the amount of blue metal used to level uneven spots on the sections.

Funded under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Program (CRIDP) 2025-26, the new outer ring road will be a dual carriageway section with a width of at least 10 metres. Unlike urban areas, the stretch will only have underground storm water drains to save road space.

Street lighting, sidewalks, reflectors, warning signs, and pedestrian crossings are also part of the multimillion-dollar project. A railway bridge will be constructed near Katpadi railway station. The new stretch will also have 32 culverts as it passes through more than 10 farming villages. Each culvert will be two meters wide and two meters deep. 43.52 hectares were acquired for the new section.

Once completed, the new stretch will help goods-laden vehicles, especially from southern districts, to reach areas like Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Hosur without passing through Katpadi. In other words, highway officials said the new stretch will end a detour for motorists of at least 15 km.

The new stretch will also provide road connectivity to at least 20 nearby agricultural villages, including Kal Pudur, Dharapadavedu, Karikiri, Kandimedu, Arumparuthi, Karnampattu, Arambakkam and Perumugai.

Published – 10 Sep 2026 05:30 IST