NHAI Trichy proposes to eliminate 12 accident hotspots

Trichy: In a major respite for Trichy city residents, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has submitted detailed proposals to eliminate 12 accident prone sites on national highways (NH) supervised by Trichy project implementation unit (PIU). The proposals include developing a vehicular underpass (VuP) at Sanjeevi Nagar junction and a light vehicular underpass (LVUP) at Srirangam Y road junction near Kollidam checkpost, on Trichy-Chennai NH, two major accident prone zones in the city, under the annual road safety plan for 2025-26.Trichy PIU recently studied 12 accident prone sites in its jurisdiction and suggested a solution each. The annual road safety plan has been submitted to NHAI's headquarters. A committee will scrutinise proposals to ensure parameters such as frequent accidents reported based on road safety audit in all sites to allocate funds and float tender for corrective infrastructure including underpasses and service roads, were met.While G Corner junction near Ponmalai railway workshop is a step away from a permanent solution with NHAI seeking around 3.5 acres of land from the railways to construct a VuP and a service road, NHAI said that preliminary work at Sanjeevi Nagar and Srirangam Y road junctions will be launched within March 2026. The Y road junction alone has recorded five deaths in two different accidents in April.Unlike G Corner, additional land acquisition will not be required for both Sanjeevi Nagar and Y road junction sites as existing right of way can be utilised to develop underpasses. "Land needed for a new VuP at G Corner has been already intimated to top officials in railways. I will soon conduct inspections for new underpasses in Sanjeevi Nagar and Kollidam Y road junctions," Trichy MP Durai Vaiko told TOI.While NHAI anticipates technical constraints in executing underpasses at Sanjeevi Nagar and Y road junctions due to the proximity to Cauvery and Kollidam rivers, besides existing overbridges and level differences, officials hope on evolving a suitable solution to eliminate accident vulnerabilities. "A light VuP with lesser height clearance, to handle limited volume of vehicles is suggested for Y road junction near Kollidam checkpost in Srirangam. Sanjeevi Nagar junction may get a proper VuP. Proposals mooted may cost around 38-40 crore each," an official source with NHAI said.