The Chennai Corporation has chalked out an ambitious plan for upgrading roads on 50 bus routes to international standards. According to officials of the civic body, the 50 roads would be grouped in such a way that they form corridors that connect important localities across the city.
Some of the roads likely to be part of the corridors are Sardar Patel Road, Durgabai Deshmukh Road, Santhome High Road, Kamarajar Salai, Cathedral Road and Nungambakkam High Road.
Awaiting government approval
The project awaits government approval, which is expected only after the Model Code of Conduct for the Assembly elections ceases to operate.
The civic body will develop the corridors with world-class pedestrian facilities and better connectivity between the two extreme points of a corridor. The roads would also be disabled-friendly. Provision of separate ducts for cables of service providers will be an important component of the project. The civic body will ban digging of the roads or shifting of cables after the infrastructure is in place.
One of the corridors is likely to include bus route roads connecting Guindy with Parry's. The bus route roads in this corridor include those passing through Madhya Kailash, Adyar, Raja Annamalai Puram, Foreshore Estate, Santhome, Marina Beach and Reserve Bank of India.
Model for further improvement
The 50 roads are likely to be a model for further improvement of roads in the city. They would also ease traffic congestion, optimise the speed of vehicles in the city roads and provide connectivity between various residential and commercial localities across different zones of the Chennai Corporation.
