TIRUCHY: Travel on the 16-km Tiruchy-Kallanai Road has become a nightmare for commuters as overgrown Prosopis juliflora shrubs and thorny bushes have encroached nearly half the road on both sides, reducing the usable width and posing a safety hazard.
The State Highways Department-maintained road, which is the main approach to the historic Kallanai dam via Sarkarpalayam, Mullaikodi and Thogur, carries heavy two- and four-wheeler traffic. The traffic volume increases sharply during weekends as tourists visit the dam located about 20 km from Tiruchy.
With the road measuring just 5.5 metres wide, vehicles struggle to cross each other. The overgrown thorny vegetation forces two-wheeler riders to move to the edge of the carriageway to make way for heavy vehicles, increasing the risk of accidents.
N Saravanan, a tourism enthusiast, said hundreds of vehicles use the road every day. “The bushes have narrowed the road, can scratch vehicles and obstruct visibility at curves, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries,” he said.
S Antony, a resident of Vengur who commutes on the stretch every day, said residents had repeatedly urged officials to clear the vegetation. Although authorities assured them that the work would be taken up, there has been no progress.
“We urge the authorities to remove the bushes immediately. More importantly, the road should be widened into a two-lane stretch,” he said.
Assistant Engineer (Highways-East) Gowtham said the department had begun clearing shrubs and bushes along the road on the northern bank of the Cauvery, from the Tiruchy-Chennai Bypass to Kallanai.
“After completing that work, we will take up shrub clearance on the road along the southern bank of the Cauvery,” he said.
He added that a proposal had been submitted to widen the road from 5.5 metres to 7.5 metres, along with retaining walls wherever necessary, as the stretch runs along the Cauvery riverbank.
“The availability of land for widening will be assessed through a survey. We are trying to commence the expansion work by the end of this year,” he said.
