Four accident-prone stretches in TN to be developed into 'zero fatality highways' soon

CHENNAI: In a move that is aimed at improving road safety, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sanctioned Rs 117 crores to upgrade four accident-prone stretches in Tamil Nadu into 'zero fatality highways'.

According to a report in The Times of India, nearly Rs 111 crores has been allocated to the improve the Madurai-Kayathar section of NH-44, where frequent and fatal accidents are reported. The plans for improvement include the construction of four vehicular underpasses, road widening and the streamlining of traffic at key junctions such as Thuvariman, Thanakkankulam, and Sivarakottai. It may be noted that this stretch has witnessed many accidents that have claimed several lives.

Apart from this, temporary rectification works at a cost of Rs 45 lakhs are set to begin next month along the 11 kms section of the Chennai-Tada corridor on NH-16, which records over 100 accidents each year. Works on this stretch include realigning bottlenecks and installing safety features like rumble strips, cat's eyes, crash barriers and reflective boards. Officials said that out of the nine blackspots on this corridor, seven have been fixed already and work is in progress on the Tiruvallur highway junction near Red Hills also at a stretch near Madhavaram junction.

With vehicles from multiple highways converging at Red Hills, the stretch turns dangerous, especially at night. Officials also confirmed that lighting fixes are also included in the plan and the work is expected to be completed within a month.

Similar allocations include Rs 54 lakh for the Pollachi-Coimbatore stretch of NH-83 to repair sharp curves and patch up the sections of road that have worn out. Apart from this Rs 5.4 crores for safety improvements on NH-544 between Chengapalli-Neelambur and Madukkarai-Walayar has also been sanctioned. On the Salem-Kochi highway, the NHAI will undertake junction redesigns, apply fresh road markings and strengthen the barriers near bridges and medians.

It may be recalled that according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the state reported 20582 accidents on national highways in 2023 which accounts for almost 13 percent of the country's total. With 6258 deaths, Tamil Nadu follows Uttar Pradesh in the number of fatalities and contributes to nine percent of the national numbers.