Western Ring Road project alignment changed again

The ambitious Western Ring Road project has once again undergone a change in its alignment, a move expected to delay the work further as the officialdom is struggling for the right design. The state highways department has changed the alignment of the road project connecting Sugunapuram near Kuniyamuthur and Narasimmanaickenpalayam. The department has submitted a proposal to the city corporation seeking permission to lay road on its land in Madukkarai and is waiting for the reply. This is the third time that the alignment of the road is changed for the project which was proposed initially in 2007 to reduce traffic congestion in the city.
"If our request to the corporation is accepted, then land acquisition from private parties at Madukarai could be prevented, completely simplifying the work. We are hopeful of a positive reply from the civic body," said a senior official from the highways department. The civic body is yet to take a call on ceding its land.
Earlier, the road was designed in such a way that it would pass through private parcels of land in Madukarai. Now, as the corporation has obtained acres of land just metres away from the earlier alignment which cut through private parcels of land, we had sought permission to use their land. "This way, we need not demolish houses on private land and force the residents to relocate," he added.
However, the highways department has completed survey for land acquisition in Madukkarai along with 11 other villages and issued notices to the owners of private land.
The four-lane road would enable motorists from South-west Coimbatore to reach the northern part without entering the city. The traffic time would come down by 50% and travel time is expected to be reduced by one-third, he added.
"Coimbatore is in need of the Western Ring Road to reduce traffic congestion. But why are the designs changed several times. If the first design was executed, the road would have come up by now,’’ said K Kathirmathiyon of Coimbatore Consumer Cause.
The project was initially announced in the state assembly in 2010 and was proposed from Palakkad Road at Madukkarai to Mettupalayam Road via Perur road, Marudamalai road and Thadagam road.
The alignment was later changed in 2011 to start from Kuniamuthur and end in Thudiyalur. In 2014, the department changed the road design again. The proposal was that the road would terminate at Narasimanaickenpalayam instead of Thudiyalur. On both occasions, officials said they were changing the design to reduce private land acquisition.