No more toll for Kerala vehicles; bridge in Coimbatore with two ramps towards Palakkad road

PALAKKAD: A bridge built by the Tamil Nadu government at a cost of Rs 482 crore is becoming very beneficial for Kerala and Malayalis also. The special feature of the bridge is that the time required for a journey of more than half an hour is reduced to three and a half minutes. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the bridge in Coimbatore. The bridge will be a permanent solution to the long-standing traffic jam from Athupalam to Ukkadam town on the Coimbatore road.

Passengers travelling from Kerala to Coimbatore will benefit the most from the bridge. It used to take half an hour to cover a distance of 2.4 km due to traffic jams. The speed limit is 40 km on the bridge and 30 km on the ramp. The construction of the 3.8 km bridge with seven ramps has been completed. The advantage for the Malayalis is that two of these ramps are towards the Palakkad road.

The flyover has been constructed as a four-lane road. The relief is that the practice of stopping Kerala vehicles and collecting tolls at the previously constructed tollgate has come to an end. The state highway department had given permission to collect tolls for 35 years for the two-lane bridge connecting Palakkad road with Coimbatore city. The project, which was initially announced from Athupalam to Ukkadam, got delayed when the bridge work started and then it was extended to Palakkad and Pollachi road.