COIMBATORE: The National Highways department on Wednesday started demolishing the buildings hindering vehicle movement at Jothipuram near Periyanacikenpalayam on the Coimbatore-Mettupalayam highway. The service road leading from the down ramp of the Periyanacikenpalayam flyover will be widened after the demolition, expected to be completed in a couple of days.
The demolition commenced after the payment of compensation of Rs 1.5 crore to seven land owners and taking over 292 square meters of land into the department's possession.
"As part of widening the service road up to 5.5 metres, we have acquired patta lands from seven landowners and paid Rs 1.5 cr in total. Vehicles couldn't smoothly enter Veerapandi from Periyanacikenpalayam.
"The demolition will be completed within a week. Some owners have agreed to demolish their buildings themselves. We will also carry out the widening of the service road along with other road improvement works at Jothipuram junction at a cost of `6 cr," said an NH department official.
Improvement works planned are widening of the road at Jothipuram, shifting of the drain and widening of the culvert as per the Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms, the official added.
"We will also demolish three temples — Vinayakar, Amman and Perumal — since these temples are encroached on highway department's land. We have also allotted `60 lakh to fix lighting on the flyover. These works, including the widening of the road, improvements at the junction, and removal of encroachments would be completed before March 2026," he further said.
As reported earlier the state government last month ordered a high-level inquiry into design flaws and irregularities in the construction of the 1,850-metre-long Periyanaickenpalayam flyover based on a complaint filed by Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC) with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Currently, vehicles using the service road from Periyanaciekenpalayam to Jothipuram use the down ramp. Vehicles go at a snail's pace here as buildings jutt out towards the service road. Even those going from the down ramp have to reduce the speed. Moreover, dividers have also been placed to make the motorists aware they will be in danger if they operate vehicles rashly.
With the commencement of the demolition work, traffic is crawling along the down ramp at Jothipuram.