Latest news with #Highways
Time of India
24-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Motorists, vendors hit rough patch on OMR-ECR link road
Chennai: 'Inconvenience today for a better tomorrow' reads the message on barricades erected by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on the OMR-ECR link road leading to Sholinganallur junction. However, the magnitude of inconvenience caused is far too much to tolerate, say road-users and shopkeepers along the 900m stretch of Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai. Work on CMRL phase-2 corridor 3 worsened problems by reducing road width and adding to dirt and dust. "One has to search for the road amid all the rubble and stones and dust. The road level dipped owing to construction work. Last week, an elderly man fell off his bike on the slippery stretch and injured himself. No one took action, not even to lay a temporary road," said Saravanan, who owns a shop on the stretch. Most shopkeepers, who earlier used to display products outside their shops, now don't. "Dust accumulates quickly. Vehicles are bound to get dirty if parked outside even for a few minutes," said a resident of the area. The state of the road worsens as one progresses towards the Sholinganallur signal. Construction debris and material spill on the road, making the commute difficult. Asked why some portions did not have barricades, the contractor of a private firm in charge of the metro work on the stretch said, "Barricades can only be erected when there is a stable road. Unfortunately, to lay the road, macro drainage work [to facilitate water flow and prevent flooding] has to be completed, and that rests with the Highways. We have also been pressing for laying a temporary road on the stretch." Contractor Murugan, in charge of the roadwork, said macro drainage work to facilitate easy flow of floodwater and drainage was completed and only the road-laying work remained. One look at the stretch, however, tells a different story. Residents rue that the pitiable plight continued for more than three months. When contacted, Ananthraj, ADE, city roads, highways department, said steps would be taken to lay a road within a week. "Debris will be cleared, and steps will be taken to level the road," he added. The 45km corridor 3 of CMRL Phase 2 project, under construction, extends from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Siruseri Sipcot.
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
State Highways begins counting of vehicles on key roads in Vellore
: The State Highways has begun the counting of vehicles on key stretches, intersections, and border areas in Vellore district to introduce road safety measures such as widening of stretches and traffic diversions. State Highways officials said the annual execise, which was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, had been resumed due to the rise in the number of vehicles. The exercise is monitored by R.N. Dhanasekar, Divisional Engineer, State Highways (Vellore). 'The counting helps us assess vehicular flow on key stretches and intersections to make improvements as part of road safety measures. Volunteers have been roped in for the week-long exercise,' B. Yogaraj, Assistant Engineer, State Highways (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu. According to Highways officials, the census helps understand traffic flow patterns, and identify busy routes and accident-prone spots. Based on the flow of vehicles, the identified routes and junctions will be widened. Other safety measures include additional traffic signals, reduction in pedestrian crossings and traffic diversions. 'Stretches within Vellore Corporation limits should be widened to meet growing vehicular traffic in the town. For example, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams traffic junction on Anna Salai is narrow, even ambulances get stuck on the stretch,' said K. Sampath, a motorist. The key stretches identified for the census include Chittoor-Tiruvalam Road, Katpadi-Vallimalai Road, Cuddalore-Chittoor Road, Pallikonda Main Road and Ponnai-Tiruvalam Main Road. The exercise also covers stretches that connect border villages in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh such as Melpatti Road, Paradarami Road and Chittoor Gate Road near Gudiyatham town. Divided into teams, two persons will carry out the task in each identified area. Eight types of vehicles, including lorries, multiple-axle wheel lorries, buses, tractors, cars, two-wheelers and bull carts, will be covered in the exercise. The survey will be undertaken between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on all days, including Sundays. Highways officials said on an average, an increase of 5%-10% of vehicles had been found in the district every year. Compiled data of the vehicles will be processed by the Traffic Science Laboratory of the Highways Research Station in Chennai. The laboratory will provide detailed guidelines for traffic changes on identified routes in the coming months.
Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Sixty roads, paths and bridges in Gwynedd to be repaired but will mean more roadworks
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Roads in Gwynedd will see improvements over the next two years after Cyngor Gwynedd received a grant worth £7.8 million from the Welsh Government. The investment includes improvements to more than 60 roads, paths and structures in areas across Gwynedd; from Llanrug to Llanystumdwy and from Tudweiliog to Tywyn. Cyngor Gwynedd said it provided strong evidence to the Welsh Government about the need for investment. Following this a Local Government Borrowing Initiative has been approved for capital investment to improve highways during the period 2025-2027. Last year the council spent £750,000 on pothole repairs, with hopes that this investment will reduce that ongoing spending bill. The investment will mean additional roadworks over the next couple of years but should then reduce the need for future works. The plans include: road resurfacing work, tar and chip work, footpath repairs work on highway structures such as bridges or retaining walls Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Leader of Cyngor Gwynedd said: "The condition of the roads is of concern to a large number of local people, but due to the dire financial situation of local authorities we have not been able to invest in the network as we would have liked. I am therefore delighted that our application through the Local Government Borrowing Initiative has been successful. "This investment will make a huge difference and target the areas most in need in terms of potholes in roads, resurfacing, footpaths, and other structures.' Councillor June Jones, Cyngor Gwynedd Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways, Engineering and Ymgynghoriaeth Gwynedd Consultancy added: "This extremely good news will allow us to deliver a much broader programme of work than could have been achieved without this investment. "This news also means that the Council will be able to plan spending much better. For example, this past financial year £750,000 was spent on filling potholes on our network here in Gwynedd. This is not the best use of our road maintenance revenue funding as it is completely responsive. "Through this investment over two years, we are confident that we will reduce our emergency spending on filling potholes in roads and spend more on programmed resurfacing work." Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find out what's happening near you
North Wales Live
24-05-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
Sixty roads, paths and bridges in Gwynedd to be repaired but will mean more roadworks
Roads in Gwynedd will see improvements over the next two years after Cyngor Gwynedd received a grant worth £7.8 million from the Welsh Government. The investment includes improvements to more than 60 roads, paths and structures in areas across Gwynedd; from Llanrug to Llanystumdwy and from Tudweiliog to Tywyn. Cyngor Gwynedd said it provided strong evidence to the Welsh Government about the need for investment. Following this a Local Government Borrowing Initiative has been approved for capital investment to improve highways during the period 2025-2027. Last year the council spent £750,000 on pothole repairs, with hopes that this investment will reduce that ongoing spending bill. The investment will mean additional roadworks over the next couple of years but should then reduce the need for future works. The plans include: road resurfacing work, tar and chip work, footpath repairs work on highway structures such as bridges or retaining walls Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Leader of Cyngor Gwynedd said: "The condition of the roads is of concern to a large number of local people, but due to the dire financial situation of local authorities we have not been able to invest in the network as we would have liked. I am therefore delighted that our application through the Local Government Borrowing Initiative has been successful. "This investment will make a huge difference and target the areas most in need in terms of potholes in roads, resurfacing, footpaths, and other structures.' Councillor June Jones, Cyngor Gwynedd Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways, Engineering and Ymgynghoriaeth Gwynedd Consultancy added: "This extremely good news will allow us to deliver a much broader programme of work than could have been achieved without this investment. "This news also means that the Council will be able to plan spending much better. For example, this past financial year £750,000 was spent on filling potholes on our network here in Gwynedd. This is not the best use of our road maintenance revenue funding as it is completely responsive. "Through this investment over two years, we are confident that we will reduce our emergency spending on filling potholes in roads and spend more on programmed resurfacing work."
Borneo Post
23-05-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Elephant death prompts wildlife protection plea for Pan Borneo Highway
An elephant standing besides the truck that killed its baby on May 11 in Peninsular Malaysia. KOTA KINABALU (May 23): A heart-wrenching incident on May 11 has brought renewed attention to the dangers Malaysia's road networks pose to wildlife. A five-year-old male elephant calf was fatally struck by a 10-tonne lorry while attempting to cross the East-West Highway in the Belum-Temenggor Forest Reserve. The calf's mother remained by its side for five hours, desperately trying to rescue her offspring, in a scene that has since gone viral and sparked public outcry. Professor Benoit Goossens from Danau Girang Field Centre and Dr Nurzhafarina Othman from Seratu Aatai express their concerns and implore the government to consider mitigation measures for the Tawai Forest Reserve alignment in Telupid, Sabah. 'This tragedy underscores the broader issue of human-wildlife conflict exacerbated by infrastructure development,' said Goossens, also from Cardiff University. 'In response, the Malaysian government has announced plans to incorporate dedicated wildlife crossings into future highway designs to prevent similar incidents. Why not acting now for the Pan Borneo Highway? I sincerely hope that it is not too late to do this for the proposed alignment in Telupid for which construction will start soon,' added Goossens. 'With Coalition Humans, Habitats, Highways (3H), we have emphasized for many years that road construction through wildlife habitats not only leads to fatal accidents but also increases the risk of poaching and habitat fragmentation,' said Othman, also from Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The proposed Pan Borneo Highway alignment, which cuts through the Tawai Forest Reserve, would endanger the elephant population in the reserve as well as other protected species such as the Bornean orangutan, the Sunda clouded leopard, the Malayan sun bear and the Bornean peacock pheasant. Events like the May 11 one will definitely happen in Telupid if nothing is done,' added Othman. 'This incident in Peninsular serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need to balance infrastructure development with wildlife conservation. It would be a shame if that poor baby elephant died in vain. We sincerely hope that mitigation measures could be implemented immediately, such as building dedicated wildlife crossings or even better, viaducts at the two elephant hotspots that our research has identified. There is also a need to enforce speed limits and install warning signage and lighting to alert drivers of potential wildlife crossings. Finally, preventing heavy lorries to use the stretch crossing the forest reserve at night, and force them to use the existing Telupid road, would limit the chance of dramatic accidents leading to human and wildlife casualties,' concluded Goossens and Othman.
