State Highways installs LED streetlights on Chennai – Chittoor – Bengaluru Highway near Walajah to prevent accidents

The State Highways has installed 40 LED lights on the newly widened Chennai – Chittoor – Bengaluru Highway (SH 107) near Walajah town in Ranipet on Tuesday to prevent accidents on the stretch.

Officials of State Highways, which executed the work, said that the stretch was made a four lane because it is widely used by many vehicles, including goods carriers, that cater to industrial areas along the stretch.

In terms of passenger car units (PCUs), more than 17,000 vehicles use the stretch every day. “The work was done as part of road safety measures as the stretch is a busy thoroughfare that connects key districts and towns. The new lights will be maintained by respective local bodies on the route,” S. Selvakumar, Divisional Engineer (DE), State Highways (Ranipet), told The Hindu.

Accompanied by Collector J.U. Chandrakala, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles and MLA for Ranipet R. Gandhi inaugurated lights on the stretch. “The stretch has remained an accident-prone one mainly due to lack of streetlights. Motorists have to depend entirely on headlights of the vehicles. The new streetlights are a great relief for road users,” said K. Prem, a motorist.

The stretch connects key towns like Tiruttani, Sholinghur, Walajah, Ranipet, Katpadi, Vellore, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. It runs through paddy fields, coconut, and mango groves to a distance of 8.2 km. The stretch was 15 feet wide in the early 1980s when a road was laid for transport of farm produce.

Funded under Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme (CRIDP) 2025-2026, the stretch was widened to 18.6 metres with a median, stormwater drains, and streetlights. Eight culverts are being built on the stretch. Of the total 8.2 km, 1.2 km of the stretch have been widened for which new streetlights have been installed.

Each streetlight with 250 volts bulbs, has been installed at a distance of 25 metres from each other. The entire work was done at a cost of ₹14 lakh from the Road Safety Fund of the district administration.

Highway officials said that as per norms, streetlights on key arterial stretches will be installed only by respective civic bodies on the route. In this case, the State Highways has installed streetlights on its own due to frequent accidents on the unlit widened stretch. On an average, three to five accidents occur on the route every week. Despite its installation, the new streetlights will be maintained by local bodies.