TN govt urges centre to announce 500 km roads as national highways

The Tamil Nadu government asked the centre to declare 500 km of roads in the state as national highways, for which in-principle permission was granted by the Ministry of road transport and Highway in 2018.

The state government also urged the centre to take up the Madurai Western Ring Road, the Coimbatore Half Ring Road and the Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam Road costing Rs 6,600 crore.

The roads cover Vallioor-Tiruchendur (70 km), Arcot-Tindivanam (91 km), Tiruvannamalai -Kallakurichi (65 km), Avinashi-Mettupalayam (38 km), Palani-Dharapuram (31 km), Kollegal-Hanur-MM Hills-Palar Road-TN border stretched up to Mettur (30 km), Mettupalayam-Bhavani (98 km) and Bhavani-Karur (77 km).

Minister E V Velu said in a representation to Nitin Gadkari that presently, the condition of these roads requires urgent repairs and improvements to provide to the existing day-to-day traffic.

The roads join notable pilgrimage hubs such as Tiruchendur, Tiruvannamalai and Palani and many trade and tourism hubs. Upon development, the Kallakurichi-Tiruvannamalai and Arcot-Tindivanam roads will work as the shortest routes to a notable pilgrimage centre, Tirupathi/Tirumala.

The 30 km long Madurai Road will join AIIMS, the Madurai-Cochin Road and the Kodai Road and connect the integrated Madurai bus stand at Mattuthavani, Central vegetable and flower market with NH44 (Srinagar-Kanyakumari Road). The project value is Rs 1,200 crore.

The Rs 3,480 crore Half Ring Road to Coimbatore sanctioned by the government in March 2018 can be undertaken in two phases – Madukkarai to Karanampettai and from Karanampettai to Periyanayakkanpalayam procurement of 463.4 hectares of land is valued at Rs 536 crore.

The Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam Road passes via Coimbatore and Sathyamangalam and connects Ooty-Kotagiri-Mettupalayam-Sathyamangalam-Gobichettipalayam-Erode and Sathyamangalam-Bhavani. The stretch from Coimbatore to Sathyamangalam that heads to Karnataka via Dhimbam hill is two-lane with many curves. The NHAI has offered four-laning of Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam and two-laning of Sathyamangalam-inter-state border for 90 km.

The Road Ministry may contemplate enhancing the inter-state connecting road for safer traffic flow in the ghat section and decongest traffic. The project value, including land purchase, is Rs 1,920 crore.

The state government additionally took up with the ministry the need to widen eight bypasses on the Salem-Ulundurpet section of NH-68 to four-lane quickly. Statistics display that the presence of two-lane bypasses within the four-lane highway creates frequent road accidents and fatalities. Accidents take place often in these bypass areas, where the shift from two-lane to four-lane and four-lane to two-lane occurs and at the junction points of these bypasses.

Between April 2016 and July 2021, 715 accidents occurred, leading to 169 fatalities and 309 major injuries. Incidentally, the Salem-Ulundurpet highway development of four-lanes commenced in the prior DMK regime.

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