Stung by the rising number of road accidents on the Tiruchi-Karur Highway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed a consultant to study the reasons for the problem.
The 11-km Tiruchi-Thindukarai road stretch, which runs between the Cauvery and Tiruchi-Karur railway line, was widened over a year ago following persistent demands from residents and motorists. The road, with sharp and dangerous curves, was widened to 10.5 metres width from seven metres by the Highways Department under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme 2019-20. Besides this stretch, the road section from Pettavaithalai to Thindukarai is said to be accident prone.
According to sources, it recorded about 11 deaths involving various accidents since January. There were many accidents between Pettavaithalai and the Kudamuriti bridge in Tiruchi in 2023 and 2022. It is said that there are at least 10 accident-prone spots between Pettavaithalai and the Kudamuriti bridge.
In order to prevent accidents, the NHAI has decided to take steps on the Tiruchi-Karur Highway. As a first step, it has employed a consultant to study the issue in detail.
A senior official of the NHAI told The Hindu that there were some accidents on the highway in the recent past. The accident rate was generally low on the four-lane highways. The Tiruchi-Karur Highway was a two-lane road with an extended pavement shoulder. Hence, it had been decided to carry out an in-depth study.
The consultant would collect all field information, including volume of traffic, the nature of vehicles involved in accidents, timing of accidents, and other aspects. Based on the report, the NHAI would take steps to reduce the accidents. If needed, steps would be taken to install lights along the accident zones.
