COIMBATORE: Motorists urged the highways department to widen the 3 km stretch of Kamarajar Road from Singanallur in Tiruchy Road to Hope College in Avinashi Road as traffic congestion on the stretch has been increasing at a staggering rate every single day.
According to sources, the Kamarajar Road in the East Zone of the city is one of the vital roads in the city as it connects two major National Highways, including the Tiruchy Road and the Avinashi Road. Kamarajar is the only straight-link road connecting the two roads. The 3 km stretch is just 40 feet wide which has resulted in frequent traffic congestion in recent times.
Coimbatore Consumer Voice Secretary N Logu told TNIE, “The 3 km stretch of the Kamarajar Road once used to be 60 feet wide. But now, due to numerous encroachments, the road has shrunk to 40 feet. There are 15 crossroads on the 3 km stretch. With the Singanallur Bus terminus and the ESI Medical College hospital situated on Kamarajar Road, the traffic congestion on the stretch has been increasing at a staggering rate day by day. In view of this, a proposal has been made to the highways department to widen the existing road to 100 feet through Land Acquisition.”
Social activists added that people are unable to commute through the road, especially during the peak hours and patients visiting the ESI Medical College Hospital on the road are affected due to the frequent traffic congestion. When inquired about it, National Highways Department Divisional Engineer (DE) Sundaramoorthy said that they don’t have any plans at present to take up the Kamarajar Road widening project.
Speaking to TNIE, Sundaramoorthy said, “We received petitions and requests from the activists and associations regarding the Kamarajar Road widening project. However, we haven’t sent any proposal to the government in this regard, as the project cost would be too high. In order to execute the project, land acquisition needs to be carried out throughout the 3 km stretch. For LA alone, we need over Rs 600 crore. Apart from that, we will require another Rs 200 to Rs 300 crore for widening and paving new roads. So spending a sum of Rs 1,000 crore on this project is not feasible at the moment. We shall further study and take a final call later.”