The Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Pon. Radhakrishnan, sought more cooperation from the Tamil Nadu government for executing new road projects by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Five new NHAI road projects had been awarded for Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of over Rs. 2,000 crore to cover about 407 kilometres, Mr.Radhakrishnan said speaking at a meeting organised by the NHAI on the one-year achievements of the Central government here on Wednesday. The new projects would propel Tamil Nadu into a new growth path, Mr.Radhakrishnan said. The Minister said the 32-km-long Avinashi-Tirupur-Avinashipalayam sector had been declared as a national highway. The cumulative length of the national highways in Tamil Nadu was a little over 5,000 kilometres. Though the national highways made up only two per cent of the total length of the roads in the country, they carried 40 per cent of the traffic, Mr.Radhakrishnan pointed out. The Minister released a booklet on the national highways in Tamil Nadu brought out by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI. Senior NHAI officials were present on the occasion.
