State Highways to lay concrete-paved shoulders on Yelagiri Hills Road for safety of motorists

With the onset of Northeast monsoon, the State Highways has proposed to lay concrete paved shoulders on the narrow 14-km Yelagiri Hills Road to ensure safety of motorists.

Officials of the State Highways Department said that the stretch, which has 14 hairpin bends and is 5.5-metre-wide, connects key towns such as Jolarpet, Tirupattur, and Vaniyambadi in the plains with 21 tribal habitations atop Yelagiri Hills. "Road maintenance works, including repair of potholes and road patchwork in the hill road are being done during monsoon. Concrete paved shoulders are aimed to provide more safety for motorists to travel on the stretch," a State Highways official told The Hindu.

The move comes after a boulder fell on the carriageway of the stretch on Monday night. No one was injured in the incident. As per records, over 10,000 vehicles, mostly tourist cabs, use the stretch every day.

Along with State Highways officials, Collector V. Nallasivan inspected damaged carriageways in Yelagiri, Pudur Nadu, and Nellivasal Nadu villages. These tribal villages are located atop Jawadhu Hills in Tirupattur district. "Traffic should be regulated during weekends and holidays. Additional safety measures like reflectors and blinkers should be installed for the safety of motorists during night," said K. Subash, a motorist.

Highways officials said that the Yelagiri Hills Road had been a pathway used by tribals in the hillock before it was converted into a bitumen stretch a few years ago.

New concrete paved shoulders will be laid for 2.5 km along the stretch.

Highways officials have also identified the need to build a parapet wall at five spots on the stretch for safety of motorists. Each wall, on an average, will be 0.8 metres in height and will cover a distance of 100 metres. Of the total 14.4 km of the stretch, 10.4 km of the road will have a parapet wall.