The National Highways Authority of India has invited proposals to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for a greenfield four-lane Tiruchi-Karur-Coimbatore highway and a northern bypass for Tiruchi city, covering a length of 230 km. The tender document requests appointment of an eligible consultant to complete the DPR for the four-laning and the bypass. The announcement follows sustained concern over frequent accidents on the Tiruchi-Karur national highway section. Authorities indicated the exercise aims to establish a safer, high capacity corridor and reduce travel time. Concerns are concentrated on an 11 kilometre stretch from Tiruchi to Thindukarai where a substantial portion of the road runs between the Cauvery river and the Tiruchi-Karur railway line and exhibits sharp, hazardous curves. That segment was widened by the State Highways Department from seven metres to up to 10.5 metres some years ago but accidents have continued. NHAI had earlier widened sections beyond Thindukarai and has included a bypass between Panjapur on the Tiruchi-Madurai highway and Thindukarai within a proposed semi-ring road. Earlier proposals for a greenfield link between Tiruchi and Karur had stalled because of concerns over extensive land acquisition on fertile tracts along the Cauvery. The current plan appears to merge the Tiruchi-Karur and Karur-Coimbatore greenfield alignments with the northern bypass to create a contiguous corridor. The bypass was originally planned by the State Highways Department to connect Thuvakudi and the Tiruchi-Chidambaram, Tiruchi-Chennai and Tiruchi-Karur national highways and NHAI intends the route to link those arteries. Stakeholders have welcomed the move and urged rapid completion of the DPR so the project proceeds. The president of the Road Users Welfare Association said the DPR for the greenfield highway and the semi-ring road should be prepared expeditiously and finalised to enable timely construction and improve road safety for users in the region and adjacent districts.