Centre urged to develop stretch of Salem - Chengapalli National Highway into six lane expressway

With the 102.5 km stretch of Salem – Chengapalli National Highway 544 witnessing a sharp increase in vehicular density in the past years, Tiruppur MP K. Subbarayan has urged the Central government to develop the stretch from the existing four-lane into a six-lane expressway.

In a letter to Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, the MP said the highway was an important road connecting Salem, Namakkal, Erode and Coimbatore with Palakkad, Thrissur and Kochi in Kerala. While the 54 km stretch of the highway between Chengapalli and Coimbatore was a six-lane way, the remaining 102.5 km stretch from Chengapalli to Salem still remained a four-lane way. “About 30,000 vehicles pass through the highway everyday and traffic congestion results in increased fuel consumption adding to carbon emission,” the letter said.

Mr. Subbarayan said converting the stretch into a six-lane was not only essential to enhance the infrastructure, but also to mitigate public inconvenience. The MP said land acquisition for the purpose of a six-lane way had been completed and urged the Ministry to take up the project. He also wanted the 26 km stretch of Nilambur to Madukkarai highway converted from two-lane to four-lane.

The MP stressed the need for constructing over bridges across the highway at Pethampalayam road junction on Perundurai bypass, and Vijayamangalam – Vaipadi junction at Saralai, as frequent vehicle movement had made these areas accident prone. He wanted two flyovers near Lakshmi Nagar at Bhavani to ease congestion. Mr. Subbarayan wanted service roads on both sides of the overbridge near Kunnathur Road to Vijayamangalam toll plaza as the stretch fell on the Perundurai bypass near the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital. “Providing service roads will add to the industrial infrastructure of the Perundurai SIPCOT,” he said.

The MP called for service roads on both sides of the road near Nasiyanur and Kandampalayam as pedestrians, including school children and elderly, faced hardship in climbing the foot-overbridge (FOB) constructed near Thiruvachi Vavikadai. “The FOB should be replaced by an over bridge for the convenience of pedestrians,” he said.

The MP urged the Minister to consider the demands pertaining to his constituency and sought action in implementing the projects.

Published - October 09, 2024 06:01 pm IST