Date:05/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/05/stories/2007110550650100.htm

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‘Traffic improvement plans taking shape’

Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE: Traffic and transportation improvement plans for Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai are taking shape. Short, medium and long-term plans have been received from these cities and these may be finalised in a month, Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy told presspersons here on Sunday.

The sub-committees comprising district administration, corporation and transport officials and also experts have submitted good suggestions to improve traffic engineering and also modes of transportation.

The Chief Secretary reviewed the study of the requirements of Coimbatore city by the sub-committees. The Government ordered the formation of the committees in these cities after they had been chosen by the Central Government for infrastructure development projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Collector Neeraj Mittal, City Police Commissioner C.K. Gandhirajan and Corporation Commissioner P. Muthuveeran took part in the review meeting.

“The picture is getting clear. There are certain missing links in the road network in Coimbatore city. There are proposals to complete the link for improving the traffic system.

Flyovers and road overbridges and parking facilities were the other important measures planned for smooth flow of traffic on city roads. “By the end of this month, we will get a final shape of what is to be done in all the three cities,” Mr. Tripathy said. Some of the schemes such as improving the geometry of traffic junctions could begin immediately as they involved only decisions at the local level and did not require clearance by the Government.

“You can see a lot of development taking place in your (Coimbatore) city,” he said. The Government was keen on improving all the roads across the State. The National Highways were also into widening the roads. On charges of low schedule of rates (for construction materials) fixed by the Public Works Department holding up development works of local bodies, Mr. Tripathy said: “We are trying to find out how to index it to the current prices.”