NH relaying work to begin by May on 4-lane stretch

Madurai: Work on overlaying the Virudhunagar - Kanyakumari four-lane national highway for a stretch of 180km is likely to begin before the beginning of May, says a reply from the public information officer and project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Madurai, K P S K Mathivanan.

According to the project director, milling could be planned for 1.5km a day whereas relaying could be done only for 1.2km a day. Mathivanan added that work on studs, thermoplastic painting and road furniture is also planned. Work on the project is likely to be completed by October 20.

The NHAI official stated that they have targeted planting 583 trees for every one kilometre to improve the green cover along the national highway. But this is subject to the availability of vacant places. There is no plan to plant trees on the median.

The replies were in response to the RTI filed by activist R Pandiaraja. Pandiaraja said the NHAI and the contractors concerned for the maintenance of the sections between Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari should make use of the night curfew and other restrictions on movement of vehicles to expedite and complete relaying work at the earliest.