Accident hotspots on Trichy-Chennai NH get 57 new streetlights
Trichy: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has installed 57 streetlights at five spots on Trichy-Chennai NH identified as accident-prone hotspots in suburbs of Trichy.
The locations on a 4-km stretch were selected based on the suggestions from the district road safety council.
NHAI said the new streetlights were set up at Koothur, Pallividai, Samayapuram, Panamangalam, and Palur on the highway where there was no streetlight.
In Panamangalam, Pallividai, and Palur areas, people heading to work for Trichy had been crossing the NH amid speeding vehicles. A police constable who crossed the highway near Panamangalam was fatally knocked down by an unidentified vehicle in Feb.
During the recent district road safety meeting, members apprised NHAI of the multiple dark stretches posing a threat for two-wheelers and pedestrians crossing the roads during odd hours. Subsequently, NHAI's Trichy project implementation unit (PIU) conducted a safety audit to identify vulnerable spots and installed streetlights. "The new streetlights are not yet connected to electricity. NHAI should expedite the process to illuminate the new lights," P Aiyarappan, a member of the road safety council, said.
NHAI officials said that Tangedco Trichy has been approached to provide new electricity connections under non-commercial tariff to reduce the electricity expense. "We are following it up with Tangedco. Soon, the new streetlights will be illuminated," a NHAI official said.
Meanwhile, locals welcomed the move to provide additional lights on the NH and added the need for more lights in other stretches. "New streetlights should also be installed between Mannarpuram and Panjapur Integrated Bus Terminus (IBT) on Trichy-Madurai NH. Despite being within the city, the highway remains dark," S R Kishorekumar, a Trichy-based advocate, said. NHAI said it would discuss with Trichy corporation to know whether it could sponsor the new lights in the stretch.
Lighting up:
Hotspot location
Length
No of lights
Samayapuram
0.5 km
12
Koothur
0.5 km
11
Pallividai
1 km
12
Panamangalam
1 km
11
Palur
1 km
11
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