Cleared/AliThe state highways department has planned to extend the Ukkadam flyover project till Aathupalam Junction.The project was originally designed till Karumbukkadai Junction.“Residents of Karumbukkadai have been urging the department not to end the flyover at the junction as it would become one of the highly congested junctions. As it was a valid concern that needs to be addressed, we have decided to extend the flyover,” said a senior official from the state highways department.Superintending engineer of the department S Suresh said the extension plan of the project is currently in designing phase, which is yet to be finalized.Once the design is finalized and cost is estimated, it would be submitted for administrative sanction, he said. The department is planning to submit the proposal to the state government shortly after the parliamentary election, he added.The flyover would be extended for another 600m till Aathupalam Junction and a 300m-long loop would be constructed connecting Palakkad Road with Pollachi Road, so that it would be convenient for the commuters to travel without having to stop at any traffic signals, he said.There are three traffic signals, each with a cycle of two minutes, between Ukkadam and Aathupalam Junction. Suresh said the traveling time in the stretch could be saved by five to 10 minutes as there would be no crossing junctions, no traffic signals and no traffic congestion.On the other side, the department has originally proposed to construct the flyover till Naaz theatre. “But as the road near the theatre is very narrow and it is required to acquire land up to 12 metres from the road, we are planning to cut of the flyover by 244m,” Suresh said.“Earlier our focus was only on regularizing the traffic that emerges from Town Hall. But, as a lot of commuters emerge from Sungam Junction as well, we wanted to regularize traffic coming from both the points – Town Hall and Sungam,” he added.Instead of taking it till the theatre, it is planned to take a turn and form an elevated loop in the place of Ukkadam bus stand.A ramp from the loop joins the sloping ramp of the flyover towards Sungam and ends before Pullukadu, the official explained.“All the expansions and alterations are only in designing phase and we are yet to submit the proposal to the state government. Once the approval is obtained, we will float the tender and work would be commenced immediately,” he added.Welcoming the move, one of the commuters S Anand said thousands of vehicles cross the Karumbukkadai Junction on a single day and it would have become extremely congested if the department would have ended the flyover there. With the proposal, our travelling time would be reduced as nobody would be crossing the road at any point, he added.Secretary of Coimbatore District Road Safety Association M Devendran said, “The state highways department should consider the vehicular movement in the year 2040 and design the flyover accordingly. Also, the flyover should take the commuters to the outskirts of the city. Only then the traffic congestion could be reduced.”Another activist K Kathirmathiyon said the highways department should not change the plan just because they find it hard to acquire land as it would become problematic for the public in long run and they should seek opinion from the public as they would be using the roads.

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