Move to keep toll plazas 60km apart to hit new one in Trichy

TRICHY: The recent announcement by Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari that only one toll plaza will function within a 60 km radius of NH has put the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in a fix over establishing a new toll plaza on Trichy semi-ring road. NHAI has almost completed the plaza on the Thuvakudi - Mathur stretch of Trichy semi-ring road which lies within a 2km radius of a toll plaza on the Trichy-Thanjavur national highway.Officials are now uncertain whether the new one will function due to the minister's assurance given in Parliament.
NHAI Karaikudi project implementation unit (PIU) has completed about 90% of the civil work for a six-lane toll plaza near Palanganankudi road situated on the link road connecting Trichy-Thanjavur NH and Trichy-Pudukottai NH. This is part of the Trichy semi-ring road project linking Trichy-Thanjavur NH with Trichy-Karur NH via three major national highways including Pudukottai, Madurai and Dindigul highways.
The trial run for the FASTag mode of fee collection was completed too when Gadkari's assurance came pushing NHAI into a dilemma. "We have informed our headquarters in New Delhi about the close proximity of two toll plazas and a decision is to be taken," a senior NHAI official told TOI. According to him, there are provisions in the rule book for giving exemptions to operate both toll plazas too.
The minister's assurance was based on the conditions laid under toll fee rules, 2008. "People to avoid traffic in Trichy city will use the semi-ring road to reach Trichy international airport. Collecting toll fee twice within a 2 km radius will only discourage them from using the road," G Kanagarajan, member, Trichy Intra-City Development endeavours, said. Parties including CPM have opposed the bid to collect toll fees twice within a short distance. Since the cost of the semi-ring road that interlinks five NHs passing through the city was high and two different NHAI divisions were behind the two toll plazas, officials said the new toll plaza could overcome the constraints.
While Thanjavur PIU manages the toll plaza on Trichy-Thanjavur NH, Karaikudi PIU will manage the proposed toll plaza on semi-ring road. The NHAI had plans to collect toll fee in three-four months soon after the under-construction Kumaramangalam RoB near the plaza was completed, but the implementation has now hit a roadblock with the public resuming their opposition buoyed by the minister's statement.