Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, the Highways & Minor Ports Department (HMPD) is primarily responsible for construction and maintenance of roads including

national highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

, state highways and major district roads. HMPD was established as Highways Department (HD) in April 1946 and subsequently renamed on 30 October 2008. It operates through seven wings namely National Highways Wing, Construction & Maintenance Wing, NABARD and Rural Roads Wing, Projects Wing, Metro Wing, Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project Wing, Investigation and Designs Wing geographically spread across the state in 38 districts with about 120 divisions and 450 subdivisions.

Road Network

As on 30 June 2018, Tamil Nadu's road network has a total road length of . Tamil Nadu has about of highways which is designated as ''

National Highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

'' and ''State Highways'' on the basis of traffic intensity and connectivity. The various types of roads and their lengths are given below:

National Highways

Road stretches which have heavy traffic intensity of more than 30,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) connecting different

state capitals Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of capital citi ...

, major

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, large industrial areas and tourist centers are designated National Highway by Government of India. In Tamil Nadu, ''National Highways Wing'' of Highways & Minor Ports Department was established in the year 1971 to look after the works of improving, maintaining and renewing of National Highways laid down by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). National Highways wing exercises central government funds from

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in also ...

for improvement works. Out of 25 National Highways in Tamil Nadu, 12 highways completely lie within the state. National Highways plying through Tamil Nadu are listed below in the table:

State highways

Road stretches with heavy traffic intensity of more than 10,000 PCUs but less than 30,000 PCUs which connects

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

headquarters, important towns and the

in the State and neighboring States are declared as State Highways. Construction & Maintenance wing of Highways Department looks after Construction, Maintenance of all the State Highways (SH), Major District Roads (MDR), Other District Roads (ODR). Tamil Nadu State Highways Network has 7 circles namely

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, Salem,

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

and

Villupuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a Municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major railway junction, ...

Major District Roads

Roads with traffic density less than 10,000 PCUs but more than 5,000 PCUs are designated as Major District Roads (MDR). Major District Roads provide linkage between production and marketing centers within a district. It also provides connectivity for

and

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

headquarters with state highways and national highways. Construction and Maintenance wing of Highways Department executes construction and maintenance of MDRs along with State Highways. These roads have a minimum width of .

Other District Roads (ODR)

Roads with traffic density less than 5,000 PCUs are categorized as Other District Roads (ODR). ODRs provides road connectivity for major rural production hubs,

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

headquarters and taluk headquarters. Similar to SH and MDRs, Construction and Maintenance wing of Highways Department executes ODR related works.

Rural & Sugarcane Roads

NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex regulatory body for overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India. It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India ...

and Rural Roads Wing of Highways and Minor Ports Department carry out construction and maintenance of rural roads along with

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) () is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Of 178,000 (1.7 lakh) habitations with a population of above 500 in the plains and above 250 i ...

. NABARD and state government shares the funds required for the development of rural roads. In 2010, NABARD sanctioned for augmentation of 508 rural roads in 30 districts, upgrading 44 district roads and 39 major district roads in 18 districts and construction of 121 bridges in 31 districts of the state.

Other Roads

East Coast Road

The

East Coast Road East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built ...

was the first project implemented by Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) in the year 2002. ECR Road runs from Kudumiyandithoppu till outskirts of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

for a total length of . Recently Tamil Nadu Government has upgraded the ECR road till

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is o ...

to four lanes at a cost of .

Coimbatore bypass

Coimbatore Bypass The Coimbatore Bypass Road refers to a series of bypasses connecting the various National Highways and State Highways passing through and originating in the South Indian city of Coimbatore. The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation is undertaki ...

is a series of

bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

connecting the various

and

State Highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

passing through and originating in

. The first section of the bypass was a two-laned road with paved shoulders built by

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...

(L&T) from Neelambur to

Madukkarai Madukkarai is a suburb of Coimbatore city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the gateway to Coimbatore city from Kerala State and is located around 12 km from the Kerala border. The Coimbatore International Airport is about 27&nbs ...

National Highway 544 National Highway 544, commonly referred to as NH 544, (''old number'' NH 47) is a National Highway in South India connecting Salem city in Tamil Nadu to the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is also called the Salem-Kochi Highway. The highway runs ...

(formerly National Highway 47) which intersects Trichy Road at Chintamani Pudur near Irugur and Eachanari on Pollachi Road. It was the first road privatisation project to be implemented on a build-operate-transfer model in South India. The National Highways Authority of India is conducting studies for a bypass along the

Mettupalayam Mettupalayam may refer to: * Mettupalayam, Coimbatore Mettupalayam is a municipality town and taluk of the Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore District. It's located to the North ...

–

Sulur Sulur (Tamil language, Tamil:) is a town located in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a suburb of Coimbatore. It is the headquarters of Sulur taluk, Sulur Taluk of Coimbatore district. There are many market places and many b ...

National Highways 81 and 181 (formerly National Highway 67). The proposed length of this road is , and is expected to cost to build. In 2010, an announcement was made in the State Budget to build a Western Ring Road at a cost of 2.84 billion for 26 km. The proposed road would have been from Madukarai near ACC Cement industry, starting on Palakkad Road connecting Mettupalayam Road via Perur Road, Marudamalai Road and Thadagam Road.

IT Expressway

Road Stretch from

Madhya Kailash Madhya Kailash ( ta, மத்திய கைலாசம்), also known as Nadukkayilai in Tamil, is a Hindu temple in South Chennai, located at the junction between Sardar Patel Road, Adyar and Rajiv Gandhi Salai. It is located opposite t ...

in Adyar to

Kanchipuram district Kancheepuram district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The area comprising the present day Kancheepuram district was earlier a part of Chingleput district. The original Chingleput district was split in 1997 into f ...

which in turn connects with the East Coast Road is called Rajiv Gandhi Salai or IT Expressway. TNRDC developed this road stretch in two phases with widening of

Siruseri Siruseri is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. It is a village under Thiruporur panchayat union in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, and is 35 km from Chennai, along the Old Mahabalipuram Road. It is located between Navalur and Kelambakk ...

road stretch to six lanes in first phase and widening of Siruseri to Mamallapuram of road stretch I second phase.

Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP)

Ennore Ennore, also spelt , is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Ennore is situated on a peninsula and is bounded by the Korttalaiyar River, Ennore Creek and the Bay of Bengal. The creek separates south Ennore from the north Ennore which covers major ...

– Manali Road Improvement Project was developed by a special purpose vehicle formed by

National Highways Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI (Hindi: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and i ...

(NHAI), Chennai Port Trust (CPT),

Ennore Port Limited Kamarajar Port Limited, formerly Ennore Port, is located on the Coromandel Coast, Chennai about 18 km north of Chennai Port. It is the 12th major Sea port, port of India, and the first port in India which is a public company. The Kamarajar ...

(EPL) and

Tamil Nadu Government Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, like ...

(GoTN) at a cost of Rs 600 crore. The project was announced by the State Government in 1998 to cover industrial hotspots of north Chennai such as Manali Oil Refinery Road,

Tiruvottiyur Tiruvottriyur (Thiruvottiyur or TVT) is a neighbourhood in North Chennai, administered by the Greater Chennai Corporation. It is part of the Tondiarpet division, located to the north of Chennai. It is one of the fifteen administrative zones in t ...

–

Ponneri Ponneri is a town located in Chennai Metropolitan Region, Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in Ponneri taluk. Ponneri is major destination for Andhra Pradesh people to buy goods. Geography Ponneri is l ...

-Panchetti (TPP) Road, Ennore Expressway and northern portion of the Inner Ring Road from

Madhavaram Madhavaram may refer to: Places in South India Andhra Pradesh * Madhavaram, Kukkunoor, a village in Kukkunoor Taluk, Eluru district * Madhavaram, Tadepalligudem, a village in Tadepalligudem mandal Tadepalligudem mandal is one of the 19 mand ...

to Manali.

Chennai Port – Maduravoyal Expressway

The long Chennai Port –

Maduravoyal Maduravoyal is a residential neighbourhood located in the west of Chennai, India. As of 2011, the town had a population of 86,195. Maduravoyal also has a name as "ettam kal" (8th mile), so it could be famous in British Period too, it is exac ...

Expressway is being developed Chennai Port Trust and Government of Tamil Nadu on 50:50 cost sharing basis. The Elevated Expressway project was awarded to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

based Soma Enterprises.

Outer Ring Road Project

The 62-km long Outer Ring Road with six lanes from

Vandalur Vandalur is a census town and residential locality in southern part of the metropolitan city of Chennai, India. It is a neighbourhood in the southwestern part of Chennai. Vandalur serves as the southern gateway to Chennai city. It has the Arig ...

Minjur Minjur is a town located in the outskirts of North Chennai, India. It is located in the Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Minjur is called 'Vada Kanchi' meaning North Kanchipuram. The town has two famous temples for Shiva ...

via Nemellichery was awarded to GMR consortium by

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), formerly known as the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA), is the nodal planning agency of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The CMDA administers the Chennai Metropol ...

to implement the project on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. The project is proposed to be developed at a cost of in two phases. In the first phase, the long stretch of road from Vandalur in NH-45 to Nemellichery in NH-205 via Nazrathpet in NH4 is to be developed. The long stretch of road between Thiruninravur Nemellichery to Thiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti in Minjur is under construction. It acts as a linkage between Grand Southern Trunk Road ( NH-45),

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

–

Road ( NH 4) and Tirupathi–

Road.

Chennai Peripheral Ring Road

The proposed Chennai Peripheral Ring Road starts at Ennore port travels through the proposed Northern Port Access Road and connects Mamallapuram near Poonjeri junction of East Coast Road (ECR). The Government sanctioned Rs. 10 Crore for the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this work and the same has been completed.

References

External links

Government of Tamil Nadu – Highways Department

Tamil Nadu Highways – Right to information (Chapter-02)

Government of Tamil Nadu – Annual Road Plan 2008–09
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Network in Tamil Nadu

ta:தமிழ்நாடு மாநில நெடுஞ்சாலைகள்