Route map

National Highway 544
Map of the National Highway in red
NH 544 Expressway at Chithode near Erode, between Salem and Coimbatore
Route information
Length	340 km (210 mi)
Major junctions
North end	NH 44 in Salem, TN
Major intersections	NH 381A in Sankagiri, TN NH 544H in Erode, TN NH 381 in Avinashi, TN NH 83 / NH 181 in Coimbatore, TN NH 966 in Palakkad, KL NH 966A in Kalamassery, KL
South end	NH 66 in Edappally , KL
Location
Country	India
States	Kerala: 146 km (91 mi) Tamil Nadu: 194 km (121 mi)
Primary destinations	Salem - Erode - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kochi
Highway system
Roads in India Expressways National State Asian
← NH 44 → NH 66

National Highway 544, commonly referred to as NH 544, (old number NH 47)^[1] is a 340-kilometre-long (210 mi) National Highway in South India connecting Salem city in Tamil Nadu to the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is also called the Salem-Kochi Highway. The highway runs through the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, connecting various important cities and towns such as Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur and Kochi. It is a spur of National Highway 44, which forms the North South Corridor of the National Highway network of India.It passes south of Coimbatore. NH544 is the only highway in kerala which is fully 4lane (partially 6 lane also) including kuthiran Road Tunnel . It was formerly designated National Highway 47.^[2]

Route description

Starts from NH44 near Salem and passes through Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur, and ends at junction with NH66 at Edapally in Kochi.

Major intersections

State	District	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Tamil Nadu	Salem	Salem	0	0	NH 44 - Bangalore, Namakkal, Chennai	Western end of the highway.
	Coimbatore	Neelambur	144	89	Coimbatore	Coimbatore bypass starting.
		Saraswathi Hospitals	151	94	NH 181 / NH 81 - Coimbatore, Karur
		Eachanari Pirivu	164	102	NH 748 / NH 83 - Coimbatore, Pollachi
Kerala	Palakkad	Palakkad	204	127	NH 966 - Kozhikode
		Kannadi	209	130	SH 27 - Chittur
	Thrissur	Mannuthy	262	163	Thrissur
		Kodakara	282	175	SH 51 - Kodungallur
		Potta	288	179	SH 61 - Irinjalakkuda
		Chalakkudy	291	181	SH 21 - Athirappilly	Athirapilly waterfalls
	Ernakulam	Angamaly	305	190	SH 1 - Muvattupuzha, Munnar, Kottayam	SH 1 - Angamaly to Thriuvananthapuram
		Athani	312	194	Expressway to Cochin International Airport	5 km to airport.
		Edapally	328	204	NH 66 - Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Kozhikode
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Toll Plazas

• Vaiguntham, Tamil Nadu
• Vijaymangalmam, Tamil Nadu
• Kaniyur, Tamil Nadu
• Chullimada Hamlet (Pampampallam), Kerala
• Panniyankara, Kerala
• Paliyekkara, Kerala

Surveillance

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 98 km Edappally-Mannuthy stretch of NH 544. As part of the Rs 8.5 crore project, 65 automatic traffic enforcement systems will be installed at 23 points on the stretch. 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'.^[3]