The work to four-lane the 21 km stretch of the Kosasthalaiyar-Puthur Road that runs through the temple town of Periyapalayam, is in full swing. The first phase of work on 10 km is nearing completion and is expected to be ready by May.
“The temple witnesses huge crowds in the months of Aadi, Avani and Purattasi. During this period, lakhs of devotees flock to our town, especially on Sundays. Traffic would be very heavy and jams are very common,” said P.Anandkumar, a resident of Periyapalayam.
Sources in the Highways Department said that a by-pass was being created for Periyapalayam at a cost of Rs. 21 crore of which Rs. 9.5 crore would go towards constructing a bridge.
On an average, nearly 5,000 heavy vehicles proceeding from Andhra Pradesh and lorries carrying sand from quarries in Palavakkam use this road. A total of 15 hectares of private land and 22 hectares of government land are being acquired for the project.
Many tamarind trees that lined the road have been brought down for the widening. The Highways Department will be planting saplings along the road when the work nears completion. It will be on a 1:10 basis. “Saplings of Kaattu Vaagi and Vaagai are being grown in a nursery and they will be at least a year old so that they can withstand the traffic and grow into strong trees,” said a source in the Highways Department.
The 21-kim road runs through 16 villages and passes by three tanks.The work is being taken up only till Soolaimeni village and not upto Uthukottai, which is at the Tamil Nadu border from where the road leads to Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh.
P. Ravichandran, district chairman, Tiruvallur, said that the remaining 11 km to Uthukottai should be widened as it could be used to travel to Tirupathi.
“ This project has also led to appreciation in land value in the area, . We have also asked for a by-pass for Kanigaiper villages so that not many houses need to be removed during the land acquisition,” he said.
