 The road was improved by the British in 1942 as an evacuation route in preparation for a possible Japanese invasion of South India.With a maximum elevation of just south of Vandaravu Peak, it was among the highest roads in India, south of the Himalayas, prior to its closure in 1990.In 1864 Douglas Hamilton submitted a report stating that the Berijam Swamp area was the best site in the Palani Hills for a military cantonment or sanatorium.