The Highways Department has planned to plant about 10,000 tree saplings along Thuraiyur-Perambalur Road (SH-142) which is being upgraded under the Chennai Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor Project (CKICP).
The upgrade of the 30-km long stretch connecting Thuraiyur with the Tiruchi-Chennai Highway is expected to give a boost to industrial development of the backward Thuraiyur region and also help provide an improved transport link for industries in Ariyalur belt.
In an effort to make riding a pleasant experience on the road, the department has launched a greening drive. M.K.Selvam, Chief Engineer (Highways), CKICP, who inspected the progress of the project works on Thursday, inaugurated the drive by planting a sapling along the road stretch in the presence of Divisional Engineer R.Sundari and Assistant Divisional Engineer, S.Jayanthi. The road is being widened as a two-lane road with paved shoulders. Two by-passes are to be built at Nakkasalem and Kurumbalur. The project entails construction of 12 minor bridges and 55 box culverts. The project has been taken up at a cost of about ₹143 crore under the CKICP funded by the Asian Development Bank.
The road is being widened from the existing seven metres to 10 metres. The project, which began a couple of months back, is scheduled to be completed by February 2023. However, the department is planning to complete the project within the next six to seven months. The existing road on the section was narrow and was unable to the heavy traffic, especially goods vehicles transporting goods from Ariyalur. A short stretch of about 3.40 km of the road was already widened as a four-lane road in 2018 at a cost of ₹87 lakh under the Central Road Fund Project.
