DHARMAPURI: With the ongoing construction of the Thoppur ghat road, traffic congestion has significantly increased on the stretch. To ensure free traffic flow, temporary roads were made, but drivers claim that the roads are too narrow for movement.
The Thoppur ghat road is one of the most accident-prone stretches in Tamil Nadu, which the NHAI has even marked as a 'black spot'. In just this year alone, there have been a total of 35 accidents with seven fatalities, 30 injuries and several crores worth of property loss. To tackle this, an elevated highway was proposed at Rs 905 crore.
R Sibiarasan from Oddpatti said, "The Thoppur ghat road, which has about 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles passing through every day, has been facing severe traffic congestion due to ongoing construction. When construction began, the NHAI had promised temporary roads which would allow free traffic flow, but the roads are extremely narrow. Heavy vehicles struggle to pass through and cause severe traffic congestion. Therefore, efforts should be taken to widen the temporary roads."
A heavy vehicle driver, B Murugan, said, "The temporary roads are mostly mud roads. When we transport a lot of goods, we have to slow down. Widening the roads could ease heavy vehicle passage."
B Nandhakumar from Dharmapuri, a private business owner, said, "Nearly a week ago, I was en route to Salem. At this time, they were transporting parts for a windmill. This led to a traffic jam for over two hours. If roads were wider, we could have passed through easily. Such issues have become an everyday occurrence."
When TNIE spoke to engineers in NHAI, they said, "The construction process involves setting up 80 pillars, with the biggest pillar reaching a height of about 50 metres. For the ongoing construction, we need a significant space. It is true that in some areas there is space, but we cannot expand in these areas, as it is forest or revenue lands. Further, such expansion would only add to traffic issues. We have assessed the area thoroughly before beginning construction. The project would be completed by March 2028, and till then, traffic issues are unavoidable."
