The daily users of NH 47, including large cargo trucks, industry and institution buses, private vehicles, and two-wheelers, who compete for space and have to cut down on speed drastically when often confronted by traffic hurdles will soon have a whole new driving experience on the stretch. NH 47, one of the busiest National Highways roads in this region, is a beehive of construction activity now.
The stretch is almost unidentifiable in many areas as it is getting ready to be a six-lane road. From Chengapalli to Neelambur, for 42 km, the stretch is getting widened and has at least a couple of features that are to the standards of an expressway.
According to an official of the National Highways Authority of India here, this will be an access control stretch. At no point on the main carriageway can pedestrians, vehicles or animals cross the road. The road from Chengapalli to Walayar (42 km of six lane and 12 km of four lane) will have 36 vehicle/cattle/pedestrian underpasses. For almost every one to one-and-a-half km, there is an underpass. Those who need to go from one village to another on the stretch can use the service road and the underpasses.
Another major feature is that the road is designed to a permitted vehicle speed of 100 to 120 km per hour.
The official says that vehicles that want to travel from point-to-point (Chengapalli to Walayar or Walayar to Chengapalli) can take any lane on the main carriageway. Vehicles that want to divert to any other location should use the last lane and the exit ramps that will be provided on either side of the road. Apart from these, the road will have three flyovers (at Karumathampatti, Neelambur and Madukkarai).
The road works will be completed by the end of March next year. It will have six lanes of main carriageway and two-lane service roads on either side. The Rs. 852-crore project is implemented on a build-operate-transfer model.
