The Corporation will soon start paving a few arterial roads with cement concrete surface, set to international standards. The Corporation will open tenders to give contracts to pave four roads in Ashok Nagar when the Model Code of Conduct comes to a close on May 28.
The four roads would also have dedicated cycle tracks, footpaths embedded with specially designed tactile tiles for the visually challenged, stormwater drains, and a three-lane carriageway. A set of designs has been prepared by the civic body.
A senior Corporation official told The Hindu the cost of the project to be executed in a grid type format for a length of 3.20 kilometres covering Dr. Ambedkar Salai, Ashok Nagar 1st Avenue, 4th Avenue and 11th Avenue would be around Rs. 90 crore with the cost of shifting various utilities alone working out to Rs. 30 crore.
The official said the advantage of having a concrete road paved with M40 grade was its longer life span — between 5 and 7 years — even after water stagnation. Water stagnation was one of the prime reasons for several roads in the city getting damaged frequently.
While the concrete road has its advantages, road contractors, while comparing the cost of paving bituminous macadam (BM) road with concrete road, point out that they cost twice more as much, but are not as smooth as bitumen-topped roads.
Further, 13 other arterial roads in the city would be provided cement concrete surfaces at a cost of Rs. 74 crore under Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Project (TURIP) for which tenders have already been invited, the official added.
