Latest news with #StateHighways
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Climate
- The Hindu
State Highways to construct new bridge across Then Pennar river in Tiruvannamalai
The State Highways Department is planning to construct a new high-level bridge across the Then Pennar river between Agarampallipattu and Thondamanur village near Thandrampattu town in Tiruvannamalai as a replacement to the collapsed bridge there, as residents have been pressing for their demand of easy connectivity to reach nearby towns. The proposal of the Highways Department comes after the newly-opened ₹15.9-crore bridge across the river collapsed when excess rainwater of over two lakh cusecs was released from Sathanur dam, located 24 km from the village upstream, following heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Fengal in December. 'Ever since the bridge collapsed, we had had to trek at least 20 km to reach nearby towns like Thandrampattu and from then, it has been a long-standing demand of the residents of at least 8-10 villages,' D. Pulivendan, president, Thondamanur village panchayat, said. The bridge that collapsed was inaugurated by Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu, on September 2, 2024. 'Technical design and estimated cost for the proposed bridge across the river is ready. Work on the new bridge will commence in the coming months,' a State Highways official told The Hindu. According to Highways officials, the project to construct the proposed bridge would be executed by the Construction and Maintenance wing of the Department, led by P. Gnanavel, Divisional Engineer (DE), State Highways (Tiruvannamalai), with funds sanctioned under the NABARD scheme. As per plan, the proposed high-level bridge will be 250 metre long and 12 metre wide. The height of the new bridge will be at least 12 metres — five metres higher than the collapsed bridge. Officials said that an increase in height, especially the decks of the bridge, would help the structure to withstand huge influx of excess rainwater released in the river during heavy rainfall. The rise in height of the new structure was decided based on a study of massive floods that happened over the past 100 years, officials said. Another key change is that the proposed bridge would be built away from the collapsed structure. Highways officials attribute change of river course to be the reason for moving away from the earlier location of the bridge. 'The new plan is to build the bridge at least 200 metre away from the collapsed bridge as the river course is much more straight now. The study found that the curved portion of the river could have been the reason for the structural instability of the earlier bridge that collapsed,' said an official. Highway officials said that the proposal for the new bridge has been sent to the State government for financial clearance as technical study for the project has been completed. The project will be announced by the State government in the coming weeks before tenders were floated for the new bridge.
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Stalin to inaugurate free houses for Irular families near Arakkonam today
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will virtually inaugurate free new houses for 41 displaced Irular families at Melpakkam village near Arakkonam in Ranipet on May 29 (Thursday), providing a permanent settlement for the tribal community. This comes after the State Highways Department acquired patta land, which were provided to the affected Irular families by the district administration, for the widening of Kancheepuram - Arakkonam - Tiruttani Road (SH 58) in 2023. As part of a compensation, the State Highways decided to provide land and build new houses for beneficiaries at a cost of ₹6.32 crore. 'It's a dream come true for us because, as a community, we have lived in roadside make-shift tents for generations. We are happy that our children will now have a safe place to stay,' said V. Mayan, an Irular. Accompanied by Collector J.U. Chandrakala, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi inspected the new houses and interacted with the beneficiaries. He urged Irular families to enroll their wards in schools. The Minister also directed officials to plant more fruit bearing saplings in the housing quarters to provide shade and as a supplementary income for the Irulars. 'Considering the displaced are poor tribals, the State Highways decided to build new houses for them for the first time. The new dwelling has all basic facilities like power supply, water connection, washroom and lights,' K. Mukundan, Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADE), State Highways (Arakkonam division), told The Hindu. Facilities provided Each house, built at a cost of ₹10.70 lakh, measures 355 with a living room, bedroom, kitchen and attached toilets. A community hall with a seating capacity of at least 100 persons and an anganwadi centre are also being built. It also has a temple and a protective wall. To ensure safe drinking water to the families, an overhead tank (OHT) with a capacity of 30,000 litres also forms part of the basic amenities. The pathways in the village are also being re-laid with bitumen for easy access by ambulances during emergencies. Highways officials said that widening of the stretch is part of the Chennai - Kanyakumari Industries Corridor project by the Centre under the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) that aims to connect key coastal cities like Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Kanyakumari. Funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), the stretch has been widened for a distance of 41.77 km between Kancheepuram and Tirutani at a cost of ₹359.06 crore since mid-2021. The existing lane has been converted into a 10 m wide two-lane stretch with storm water drains, footpath, 18 small bridges and 124 culverts.
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.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Farmers, residents oppose greenfield road project in Annur
Farmers and residents of Annur area registered their 'strong protest' at an investigation on Wednesday regarding a greenfield, six-lane road from Kurumbapalayam to Sathyamangalam. A federation representing those who oppose the project said at the meeting that 90% of the owners of land identified for the project are not willing to give their land for the road work. The federation opposed the 3 A published for the road project and special DRO for the project is conducting the investigation. 'Though the greenfield road is seen as one connecting two States, it will never serve its purpose because it will be a toll road passing through a tiger sanctuary where movement of vehicles is restricted,' it said. Further, this was a project dropped by the National Highways Authority of India but taken up by the State Highways (NH wing). A parallel road has been widened for ₹74 crore and can be widened further. A flyover can be constructed at Annur to ease traffic congestion. The greenfield project entitles acquisition of vast tracts of land and hence the NHAI had suggested alternatives. Since the commissioning of the Athikadavu-Avinashi scheme, farming has increased in Annur area. The road proposed will disrupt a lot of agriculture activity in Annur and nearby areas, it said. Nearly 200 people from Annur area participated in the meeting on Wednesday.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Construction of bypass to reduce traffic congestion in Tirupattur town begins
Work on the construction of a four-lane bypass between Ratchamangalam and Damalerimuthur villages on Tirupattur-Singarapettai High Road to decongest Tirupattur town has begun. Officials of the State Highways said the bypass was aimed at providing an alternative route for long-distance travellers and commercial vehicles to go to places such as Dharmapuri, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, and Bargur at Damalerimuthur village. 'Ambulances find it difficult to reach the nearest government hospitals via the narrow stretches of the town as lorries use the same roads to reach the Salem-Vaniyambadi Highway. The bypass will reduce traffic in the town,' S. Priya, a motorist, said. The bypass — to be laid for a distance of 14.35 km in two phases — will also help local motorists to make use of the Tirupattur-Singarapettai High Road to reach the centre of the town. It will be constructed at least 3 km-4 km away from the road to prevent commercial vehicles from entering the town while travelling to other districts. At present, the key stretch witnesses continuous flow of heavy vehicles, resulting in traffic congestion and accidents on the route. 'As per estimates, more than 14,000 vehicles pass through Tirupattur town to go to Krishnagiri, Salem and Chennai. The work on the bypass will be completed in 2026,' K.R. Rajathi, Assistant Executive Engineer, State Highways (NABARD), told The Hindu. Funded under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme 2023-24, the ₹41.5 crore work includes 10-metre-wide carriageway, 1.2-metre-wide median, footpath, LED street lights and high mast lamps. It will connect at least eight farming villages to Tirupattur town. It will also help villages in Natrampalli, Jolarpet and Tirupattur panchayat unions to easily access key towns such as Ambur, Vaniyambadi, and Vellore.
