National Highway 45A (NH 45A) is a vital route in South India, connecting Villupuram in Tamil Nadu to Nagapattinam, while passing through key cities such as Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, and Karaikal. This highway plays a critical role in improving regional connectivity, supporting economic development, and facilitating movement between coastal and inland regions.
As part of its development, Package 3 covers a stretch of 56.8 km between Poondiyakuppam and Sattanathapuram. This package includes significant structures such as 7 major bridges, 28 minor bridges, over 200 precast box culverts, 45 cast-in-situ box culverts, 14 flyovers, 2 road over bridges (ROBs), and 16 underpasses (VUPs & LVUPs). The major and minor bridges, along with the flyovers, use precast PSC I-girders for the superstructure, while the substructures consist of hammerhead pier caps supported by piers resting on pile foundations. The entire corridor is designed for a speed of 100 km/h and has 4 lane configurations, ensuring smooth and safe high-speed travel.
Key innovations like extensive use of pre-casting technology, have been incorporated in this package to enhance efficiency and structural performance. Precast box culverts have been used in place of traditional cast-in-situ culverts, significantly reducing construction time and improving quality control. Additionally, integral structural designs have been adopted for the flyovers, which eliminate intermediate bearings and expansion joints. This not only optimizes the use of reinforcement and reduces the number of bearings but also improves durability and lowers long-term maintenance requirements.
