Tiruchi-Namakkal NH promises smooth ride

The State Government's move to convert the Tiruchi-Namakkal highway — the last of the State Highways in the district — into National Highways has been welcomed by the travelling public, as the time to cover the 88-km stretch will be reduced by at least 30 minutes once the road is developed properly.

It now takes a little more than two hours to travel to Namakkal from Tiruchi via the Pitchandarkovil-Thiruvasi, Thudaiyur-Kiliyanallur-Gunaseelam route since the stretch has winding roads till Musiri.

Beyond the town, the road is in poor shape well beyond Thottiyam up to Valaiyapatti in Namakkal district.

The conversion will particularly be of immense utility for travellers going to Bengaluru from Tiruchi and Delta districts, and people from the Western districts using Tiruchi International Airport frequently.

“The Tiruchi-Namakkal stretch is the only weak link,” according to a software professional travelling between Tiruchi every weekend from Bengaluru.

A good number of private vehicles bound for Salem take the Karur road till Kulithalai and cross the Cauvery river overbridge to reach Musiri.

However, the vehicles are necessitated to enter into Kulithalai town to take the road leading to the Cauvery overbridge.

The project, for which the land acquisition is yet to begin, comes under the Strategic Road Expansion Programme IV - Western Tamil Nadu, according to Highways Department sources.

Land acquisition along a straight alignment in the Tiruchi-Musiri stretch will be a herculean task, according to the trading community that has been awaiting the strong road link in the stretch for long.

Four-laning of the Tiruchi-Namakkal State Highway forms a part of the fulfilment of Vision Tamil Nadu 2023, envisaging completion of the identified projects by 2020, official sources pointed out.

Sources:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/tiruchi-namakkal-nh-promises-smooth-ride/article19761089.ece