The state highways department (national highways wing) has completed the four-lane expansion of Crawford Road, linking densely populated areas with the Trichy-Madurai National Highway (NH), where the city’s upcoming integrated bus terminus (IBT) is located. However, a narrow high-level bridge across the Koraiyar River was not included in the initial expansion. The department has now submitted a proposal for Rs 2 crore to widen the bridge.
Officials said that two-lane to four-lane widening has been completed on 1.4 km of the 1.6 km stretch. Officially known as Trichy Urban Road (SHU 132), this route, an abandoned segment of the old NH 45, connects Karumandapam, Cantonment, E Pudur, and Crawford with the Trichy-Madurai NH. A 200-meter segment still awaits widening, pending the completion of an eviction drive to reclaim highway department land. “Most of the work is finished, and vehicles are already using the widened road.
The remaining widening and a fresh bituminous layer will be completed within a month,” a senior official said.The expanded road will include a median, allowing for two separate carriageways, each 8 metre wide, to ensure smoother traffic flow. Trichy Corporation has also allocated Rs 24.6 lakh to install 120-watt LED lights on the median between Krishnapuram and Panjapur along the Trichy-Madurai NH.
While the road was widened, the Koraiyar River bridge remains a two-lane bottleneck. The highways department has submitted a proposal to replace the bridge with a four-lane structure, involving some land acquisition near Krishnapuram. Given that Crawford Road connects with the Trichy Semi-Ring Road, which interlinks five national highways, officials emphasized the bridge widening as a priority to support city buses accessing core residential areas from Panjapur IBT.
The road widening project began in January 2024, with a budget of Rs 16 crore under the 2023-24 Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) scheme.
