COIMBATORE: The State Highways department and Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) have completed around 35% of the extension works of the Valankulam road (Sungam Bypass road) in Coimbatore.
The officials are extending the road on one side and building retaining walls at the cost of about Rs 12 crore opposite the bank of Valankulam tank, where beautification works are being carried out under the Smart City Projects. Around 58 tamarind trees are being uprooted for the extension works.
According to sources, the department has also planned to lay a service road of about 500 metres from Sungam junction to Sivaram Nagar via Nehru Park and has requested the CCMC to pave a service road from Sivaram Nagar to Shanmuga Nagar via Pari Nagar in order to avoid frequent mishaps. The civic body has accepted the proposal and will begin the works soon.
A senior official from the SH department told TNIE that around 1,600 metre stretch of the Sungam Bypass Road from Sivaram Nagar to the Valankulam Boat House Road is being widened for about 5 metres on one side of the road and concrete retaining walls are being built at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore.
“As the shores of the Valankulam water body have been developed under the Smart City Projects, traffic congestion on the Sungam Bypass Road has been increasing day by day due to which the road is being widened. Some of the extended portions will also be utilised as a pedestrian pathway and parking space. Around 35% of the project has been completed as of now and the works will be completed by March 2023,” the official said.
Sources from CCMC said that a service road of about 520 metres in length and 6 metres wide will be paved by the civic body at a cost of Rs 52 lakh. “The road, which begins from Sivaram Nagar, will end near the KTM showroom at the Shanmuga Nagar on the Sungam Bypass.