Chennai: Motorists heading to Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Tada from Chennai will heave a sigh of relief soon as the much delayed road widening works are set to resume with the National Highways Authority of India having allotted funds.

According to official sources, the NHAI has sanctioned Rs 3680 crore to complete the five national highways that run for about 221.48 km across the state.

The five roads are:  Chennai - Tada road - NH 5, Karaikudi-Ramanathapuram road - NH 210, Sethiyathoppu-Cholapuram and Cholapuram-Thanjavur (NH 45C) and Oddanchatram bypass road - NH 83.

The NHAI has allotted Rs 475 crore to complete the widening of 33-km-long Chennai-Tada stretch into six lanes, which has been delayed for the past two years, while the 80-km-long Karaikudi-Ramanathapuram widening into two lane project has received Rs 653 crore. And, the widening of the Oddanchatram bypass road - NH 83 has been sanctioned Rs 249 crore.

The three widening works are to be carried out under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, said sources.

The much delayed widening of Vikkiravandi-Kumbakonam-Thanjavur road - NH 45C works will also get a new lease of life.

The 50.48-km road from Sethiyathoppu to Cholapuram is to be widened into four lanes at the cost of Rs 1,127.87 crore, while the 48-km-long Cholapuram-Thanjavur section has received Rs  1176 crore.

“Contract was awarded for these five works in January. The works would resume in one or two weeks,” said a senior official from NHAI.

The works are to be carried out under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) contract model. Under this model, the NHAI would  spend 40 per cent of the total cost of the project and the developer can fund about 20 to 25 per cent of project cost. The remaining funds can be raised as debts by the contractor company, said the sources

These projects, though sanctioned under the National Highway Development Project Phase-IV, were put on hold for reasons including issues in land acquisition and escalated project cost over administrative delay.