Coimbatore: MLA N. Karthik requests to expedite Ukkadam flyover project work. There is a lot of traffic congestion on the Athupalam-Karumbukkadai and Oppanakara Road-Ukkadam stretches.
Coimbatore: MLA N. Karthik requests to expedite Ukkadam flyover project work. There is a lot of traffic congestion on the Athupalam-Karumbukkadai and Oppanakara Road-Ukkadam stretches.
Vehicles coming from Udumalaipet and Pollachi and vehicles coming from Kerala and Palakkad can enter Coimbatore via these two lanes.
Vehicles coming from Udumalaipettal, Pollachi and Kerala were already scheduled to travel without entering Coimbatore City but instead take the Western Bypass Road via Mettupalayam, Ooty and Sathyamangalam during the 2006-11 regime. The subsequent AIADMK regime failed to implement the Western Bypass Road project for the past 9 years, causing severe traffic congestion in Coimbatore today.
Due to this, the public, several political parties including the DMK and social activists continue to insist on the need for a flyover from Athuppalam to Oppanakara Road via Karumbukkadai and Ukkadam. In 2016, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that this flyover will be constructed at an estimated cost of 216 crore rupees.
The flyover is 1.97 km with a total of 55 supporting pillars. In the first phase, the flyover will be 4 lanes from Athuppalam to Ukkadam junction. It is 1,341 meters long and 16.60 meters wide with 45 supporting pillars. In the 2nd phase from Ukkadam junction to Oppanakara street, Ukkadam-Selvapuram bypass road is to be set up in U shape. It is 344 meters long and 16.60 meters wide with 5 pillars. The third phase of the Townhall Nass Theater is set to be a two-way street from the junction to the Ukkadam junction. It is 284 meters long and 8.50 meters wide with 5 pillars.
The bridge will be extended from the Karumbukkadai to the Tollgate to Pollachi Road-Palakkad Road junction as the Athupalam Toll Gate Agreement has expired. For this, another 117 crore rupees has been allocated. It has been about three years since the flyover work from Oppanakara Road to Athuppalam Road via Ukkadam in Coimbatore South Assembly constituency started on 26.3.2018. Work is currently underway to erect a pillar at a distance of one kilometer.
Work has not yet started for a distance of about half a kilometer from one part of Ukkadam pond to the Athupalam junction signal. There are plans to build a landing bridge to the Podanur road junction and a landing bridge to the Athupalam cemetery. MLA N. Karthik said the highway department has been delaying the work. He said the area is experiencing heavy traffic congestion on a daily basis due to both traffic and construction work. Particularly vehicles are jammed for a long time in front of the Ukkadam police station. Thus, school and college students and office goers are not able to reach their destinations on time.
The people in the area are forced to take a circuitous route of about 5 km as all the work is progressing at a slow pace. The heavy traffic everyday is depressing for the motorists and an increase in the number of accidents is also seen. He further added that the absence of service roads has made it impossible for four-wheelers. The access road which was used by two-wheelers are filled with potholes and sand mounds that look like mountains and have become unusable. Also, the service road is not paved. He added there is no way for rainwater to flow which increases the risk of serious health problems and the spread of various diseases.
He accused that the highway department is in the hands of Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy, who has failed in all sectors and has only been a puppet to the BJP government. He concluded, "I request the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Highways Department to take immediate action to complete the flyover work as soon as possible."