47 National Highway 47
Road map of India with National Highway 47 highlighted in solid blue color
Route information
Length:	640 km (400 mi)
Major junctions
North end:	Salem, Tamil Nadu
	Coimbatore (NH 67), Edapally (NH 17), Kundannoor (NH 49)
South end:	Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
Location
States:	Kerala: 416 km (258 mi) Tamil Nadu: 224 km (139 mi)
Primary destinations:	Salem - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kochi - Alappuzha - Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil - Kanyakumari
Highway system
Indian Road Network National • Expressways • State ← NH 46 NH 47A →

National Highway 47, commonly referred to as NH 47, is a 650 km (400 mi) long highway connecting the city of Salem to Kanyakumari town in southern India. The highway runs through the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu,^[1] connecting various important cities and towns such as Salem, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil and Kanyakumari.^[2]

The NH 47 runs within a few kilometers of, Coimbatore International Airport (within Coimbatore city limits), Cochin International Airport (Nedumbassery) and the Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) International Airport.

The Salem-Coimbatore-Kochi stretch of the highway is included in the North-South Corridor of the Indian highway system. It is currently undergoing conversion to 4 lane, with some sections 6 lane.^[3][4] At the end of 2010, 40% of this stretch is 4 laned, and 35% under implementation.

Traffic[link]

The stretch between the Industrial city of Coimbatore and the Port city of Kochi is one of the busiest in the Indian Highway system. Most of the traffic in this stretch comprises trucks carrying consumer goods, construction materials, container lorries (bound for Kochi Port and Kochi International Container Transhipment Terminal) and passenger vehicles. During night, the highway experiences a huge volume of traffic. On an average, around 8,000 lorries use this highway to reach Coimbatore every night. The highway has several motels and restaurants along the entire stretch. Fatal accidents frequently happen in this highway, mostly due to irresponsible bus drivers and over-speeding lorries colliding head on. The National Highway 47 which used to pass through the centre of Coimbatore, now completely bypasses the city, with the commissioning of L&T by-pass road. The Avinashi Road stretch from Neelambur through Ukkadam has now been transferred to the State Highways Department, and is not part of the NH-47 anymore. In case of any mishaps on the highway, the emergency services are sometimes delayed several hours due to the volume of traffic in the Coimbatore-Salem Industrial Corridor. Many textiles and other industries are located on this highway.

Cities & Towns connected[link]

The embedded lists in this section may contain items that are not encyclopedic. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article. (April 2011)

Salem, Sankari, Komarapalayam, Bhavani, Chithode (Erode Bypass), Nasiyanur, Perundurai, Vijayamangalam, Perumanallur, Avinashi, Karumathampatti, Kaniyur, Neelambur (Coimbatore bypass), Kuniyamuthur, Madukkarai, Walayar, (Tamil Nadu-Kerala Border), Chandranagar (Palakkad Bypass), Alathur, Vadakkanchery, Mannuthy (Thrissur Bypass), Chalakkudy, Angamaly, Aluva, Kalamassery, Edapally (Kochi Bypass), Vytilla (Kochi Bypass), Aroor, Vayalar, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kalarcode, Punnapra, Ambalappuzha, Haripad, Kayamkulam, Oachira, Karunagappally, Kollam, Kottiyam, Mylakkadu, Chathannoor, Paripalli, Attingal, Kazhakkuttam(Thiruvananthapuram Bypass), Kovalam, Nemom, Balaramapuram, Neyyattinkara, Parassala, (Kerala-Tamil Nadu Border), Kaliyakkavilai, Kuzhithurai, Marthandam, Thuckalay, Parvathipuram, Nagercoil, Kottar, Suchindram and Kanyakumari.^[5]

Status[link]

Though the Government of India is investing in widening the National Highways, NH47 is predominantly a two-lane highway for most parts. The stretch from Mannuthy (in Thrissur District) to Cherthala (in Alappuzha District) is almost completely four-laned along the Bypass to Cochin city. However, the junction at Edappally with NH-17(which runs to Mumbai via Kozhikkode, Mangalore and Goa) is a very congested junction.

Road Improvement[link]

Salem ByPass NH 47 trumpet Grade interchange

NH-47 Coimbatore-Salem stretch of North-South Corridor

Nearly 400 km (250 mi) of NH 47 between Cherthala and Salem passing through Kochi, Thrissur and Coimbatore is under various stages of expansion. The stretch from Thrissur to Cherthala passing through Kochi city has been widened to multiple lanes with six-lanes in many stretches. The road widening has started at the Salem End of the Highway and the 4 lane work has been completed in the Salem-Chengapalli (Km 0 to 100) stretch and there is a new bridge built on the Cauvery river at Bhavani Kooduthurai. Widening to six lanes is in progress between Perumanallur and Coimbatore city). Also, widening is in progress from Thrissur to Walayar (Kerala- Tamil Nadu Border, Palakkad District, Kerala). Of this, the stretch from Mannuthy in Thrissur to Vadakkanchery in Palakkad District (30 km) would facilitate six-lane traffic while the 58 km segment from Vadakkanchery to Walayar would be four-lane. However, delays in land acquisition has put on hold the widening of NH47 from Cherthala to Kanyakumari through Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.^[6] The widening of Chengapalli-Walayar stretch of North-South corridor is in process,Of this, the first stretch from Chengapalli to Nilambur(Coimbatore) (42.705 km), where it would touch the already widened Coimbatore bypass, would facilitate six-lane traffic while the 12 km segment from Madukkarai(Coimbatore) to Walayar would be four-lane. Six laning from Chengapalli starts from Coimbatore Bypass section of NH-47 and Four lane from Madukarai on end of Coimbatore Bypass to Tamil Nadu/Kerala Border up to Walayar section of NH-47 in the State of Tamil Nadu.^[6]

Surveillance[link]

In an effort to improve the traffic systems, the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KSRA) has completed the first phase of installation of high-tech automatic traffic enforcement systems on the 98km Cherthala-Mannuthy stretch of NH 47. As part of the Rs 8.5 crore project, 65 automatic traffic enforcement systems will be installed at 23 points on the stretch. The department had completed installation of 15 surveillance systems on the Cherthala-Vyttila stretch and the systems would start functioning from 14 March 2012. He also said the second phase, from Vyttila to Mannuthy, would be completed by May 2012.^{[citation needed]} The monitoring technology involves a mixture of virtual sensors, motion detectors, inductive sensors, logo sensors and high resolution cameras. Pictures of number plates would be captured using 10 megapixel cameras. The main server that will be linked to all cameras will be set up at the deputy transport commissioner's office. The magnetic sensors installed on roads will trigger the cameras in case of violations and send a message to the main server. Offenders will be traced based on visuals of vehicles and registration plates and they will be issued notice. The project is being implemented by KSRA and the Motor Vehicles Department with the technical support of Keltron as part of the decision to observe 2011-2020 as the 'decade of action for road safety'.^[7]

New Number[link]

As part of the rationalization of numbering effort, the govt has re-structured the highways in the country. The section of this highway between Salem and Kochi has been assigned the number NH 544, being a spur of the North-South corridor highway NH 44. The segment from Kochi to Kanyakumari is merged with NH 66, which was formerly called NH-17.^[8][9]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Ernakulam Palarivattom N.H. Bypass Junction, Kerala

• 

  NH 47 in kerala

• 

  Kochi Bypass

• NH-47.jpg

  Coimbatore-Cochin stretch of NH-47

• 

  NH-47 in Kerala

• 

  NH 47 in Trivandrum, Kerala.

• 

  NH 47 in Thrissur.

• 

  NH 47 Vyttila junction in Kochi.

See also[link]

• National Highways Development Project
• Coimbatore-Salem Industrial Corridor

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: NH 47 (India)

• Openstreetmap 969534 (x a j h)

v t e Indian Highways Network National Expressways NE 1 NE 2 State Expressways Mumbai-Pune Delhi-Gurgaon DND Flyway Bengaluru-Mysore Chennai HSCTC Hyderabad Elevated Expressways Belghoria Expressway Yamuna Expressway National Highways 1 1A 1B 1C 1D 2 2A 3 4 4A 4B 5 5A 6 7 7A 8 8A 8B 8C 8D 8E 9 10 11 11A 11B 12 12A 13 14 15 16 17 17A 17B 18 19 20 21 21A 22 23 24 24A 24B 25 25A 26 26A 27 28 28A 28B 28C 29 30 30A 31 31A 31B 31C 31D 32 33 34 35 36 37 37A 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 44A 45 45A 45B 45C 46 47 47A 47B 47C 48 49 50 51 52 52A 52B 53 54 54A 55 56 57 57A 58 59 59A 60 60A 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 71A 71B 72 72A 73 73A 74 75 76 77 78 79 79A 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 86A 87 88 89 90 91 91A 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 116 117 119 121 123 125 126 127 128 129 150 151 152 153 154 155 200 201 202 203 203A 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 214A 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 226 227 228 229 234 235 State Highways Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Notable National Highways Development Project Golden Quadrilateral North–South and East–West Corridor