Five pedestrian underpasses to come up on Avinashi Road

Coimbatore: Five pedestrian underpasses, equipped with escalators, will be constructed under the elevated corridor on Avinashi Road to make crossing the road easier and safer for commuters.
The underpasses at Lakshmi Mills Junction, PSG College of Technology, PSGR Krishnammal College for women, Hope College Junction and near Kovai Medical Center and Hospital will be built as part of the ongoing elevated corridor project being implemented at a cost of 1,621 crore. There will be 19 openings in the median on Avinashi Road between Uppilipalayam and Goldwins for pedestrians and U-turns.
Coimbatore collector Kranthi Kumar Pati had constituted a committee for the work last month. A few days ago, the committee, consisting of the deputy commissioner of police (traffic), state highways (SH) and national highways (NH) officials, city corporation officials, regional transport office officials and the general manager of TNSTC, inspected Avinashi Road to find suitable places for the facilities.
"We decided to construct pedestrian underpasses with escalators as most of the people don't prefer foot overbridges," an official with the state highways department said. "A detailed report will be placed before the road safety committee for discussion and work will begin as soon as the committee clears it."
Meanwhile, the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRL), which is planning to operate metro train service on Avinashi Road, is yet to formulate a concrete plan.
"CMRL cannot use the pillars, which are constructed exclusively for the elevated corridor. They have to construct separate pillars, or construct a subway, to operate metro rail on Avinashi Road," the official added.