COIMBATORE: Works to increase the width of the Pollachi-Coimbatore National Highway from seven meters to ten meters will start soon as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has consented to allocate Rs 35 crore for the project, said Pollachi MP C Mahendran.
Speaking to the Express, Mahendran said, “It’s the result of a long struggle. The road in its present condition becomes extremely congested and takes at least one and half hours to cover the distance between Pollachi to Coimbatore. Once the road is widened, the traffic will ease and the time of travel will be reduced to 40 to 50 minutes”.
Speaking about the long pending proposal to make the Pollachi-Dindigul highway into a four lane road, Mahendran said. “That is our ultimate goal and we are working towards that. But it would take at least two years and this will be a stop gap arrangement. Rs 28 crore has been allocated to widen the road between Pollachi to Karpagam College in Eachanari. The remaining Rs 7 crore would be used to widen the remaining part up to Coimbatore” he said.
“As we don’t have to acquire any land for this, the work is expected to complete within a few months. The work will be undertaken by the State wing of NHAI.”
A top official at the state wing of NHAI said, “This project has been listed as one among the many road widening works to be carried out in TN as listed in the annual plan of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The department has been asked to prepare a detailed estimate of all the projects listed in the plan and we will send them within two months. After that the department will sanction the amount for the project, following which the tenders will be invited.”