Critical road stretch at Erode to be double-laned

The ghat road branches off the Bhavani-Anthiyur-Chellampalayam road on State Highways-175 and ends at Karnataka State border connecting Kollegal road. 

CHENNAI: Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed to upgrade a critical 11.6-km road link connecting Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the Western Ghats of Erode District from a single lane to a double lane, at a cost of Rs 73 crore.

The ghat road branches off the Bhavani-Anthiyur-Chellampalayam road on State Highways-175 and ends at Karnataka State border connecting Kollegal road. 

It connects both the States via Thamaraikarai and Bargur forest hills in western ghats. The Ministry has sought forest clearance from Union Environment Ministry as the upgradation meant diversion of 4.67 hectares of forest lands between the boundary of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) and Gargegandy. 

However, the authorities said the project was planned in such a way that no trees were removed during the road-widening process. “The Ministry had accorded administrative sanction for the project under Inter-State Connectivity Scheme in 2017-18.

This road also connects prominent pilgrim centres like Anthiyur Gurunathaswamy temple in TN and Matheswaran temple in Karnataka,” said Kulandairaju Sebestian, Divisional Engineer (National Highways), Gobichettipalayam. 

He said the road also serves as an important business link for traders from neighbouring States. The annual Gurunathasamy temple festival conducts horse market, which attracts many businessmen from all over India.

The agricultural products such as silk, coconut, cotton, garlic, turmeric, etc. cultivated in the hilly areas of Bargur, and also in Mysore, Kollegal areas of Karnataka are transported through this road for the weekly markets and the regulated market at Anthiyur. Moreover, many fully-loaded multi-axle vehicles use this road to reach Karnataka in order to avoid sharp and steep hairpin bends on NH-20 Dhimban Ghat section.

Current status
In the project justification note submitted by the Ministry, accessed by Express, it is mentioned that the road is in a damaged condition with a lot of potholes and sunken portions, thus making the journey uncomfortable for users. With a width of 3.75 metres, it was not possible for vehicles to overtake and a lot of accidents were taking place in the stretch.  

“Currently, the road is unable to cater to heavy traffic flow during times of temples festivals. The present traffic volume is 5,715 PCU. So, the two lane carriageway width of 7 metres is required. The existing single lane is not accommodative of the traffic volume,” the note read. 
 

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