Marappalam underpass: Land to be acquired for expansion

The wheels are turning on plans to expand the railway underpass at Madukkarai Marappalam, as an official team from the revenue, railways, police and state highways departments conducted an inspection at the spot for land acquisition as well as for the traffic diversion on the inter-state route.

- R KIRUBAKARAN @Coimbatore

The team, which visited the site on Thursday, has identified two alternative routes to divert the traffic for the next one year as "the work is expected to be completed within a year". Also, it has planned to acquire 3,500 square metres of land for the expansion project, for which "Rs 34 crore has been allocated on a 50-50 share basis by the railways and the highways departments".

Based on the officials' suggestions, the district administration, through the police department, is expected to announce traffic diversion on Coimbatore-Palakkad Road and commence the work soon, said sources.