National Highway 36 (India)

For the old National Highway 36, see National Highway 27 (India) and National Highway 29 (India).

National Highway 36 (NH 36) is a National Highway in India that starts at Vikravandi and ends at Manamadurai. This highway runs entirely in the state of Tamil Nadu.^[1] It has a total length of 334 km.

National Highway 36
Map of National Highway 36 in red
Route information
Length	334 km (208 mi)
Major junctions
North end	Vikravandi
South end	Manamadurai
Location
Country	India
States	Tamil Nadu
Primary destinations	Panruti – Vadalur – Kumbakonam – Thanjavur – Pudukkottai – Thiruppathur – Sivaganga
Highway system
Roads in India Expressways National State Asian
← NH 132 → NH 87

Schematic map of National Highways in India

The highway runs through Panruti, Vadalur Anaikkarai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Thiruppathur and Sivagangai.

Expansion

National Highway 36 (formerly NH 45C), the 164 km long Vikravandi - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur route, has been proposed to be upgraded to a four-laning road. Initially, the project was planned to be constructed as a four-lane road from Vikravandi to Meensurutti, and then as a 'two-lane road with paved shoulder' from Meensurutti to Thanjavur.^[2][3]

This project was implementing as three phase.^[4][5][6]

Si.No	Project	Length (K.m)
1	Thanjavur - Cholapuram[7]	47.87
2	Cholapuram - Sethiathoppu[8]	50.49
3	Sethiathoppu - vikravandi[9]	65.96

On 06 April 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Thanjavur-Cholapuram four-laning highway, a part of National Highway 36.^[10][11]

Advantage

• The delta region, which includes Villupuram, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Thiruvarur and Thanjavur districts, is benefiting from the expansion of National Highway 36.

• Due to this expansion, the travel time between Kumbakonam - Thanjavur will be reduced from 75-90 minutes to 30 minutes, and it is expected that Kumbakonam - Trichy can be reached in 90 minutes.^[12]

• A bypass road has been constructed to avoid the demolition of the large number of residential structures located in the Panruti & Vadalur areas. The existing single-lane Kannithoppu Highway Bridge in Vadalur is being replaced with a new four-lane bridge, thus resolving the long-standing traffic problem over the weak bridge. This road will improve the transportation of agricultural products from the local area to nearby marketing centers.^[13]