The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon float tenders to complete the remainder of the road widening project on the 33-km stretch between Karanodai toll plaza and Tada.
“We require a new concessionaire since the previous firm left the work incomplete, citing delays in land acquisition. Work on pedestrian underpasses, major and minor bridges and junctions are yet to be completed,” a NHAI official said.
The ₹418.75-crore project to widen the 43.4-km stretch, which forms part of the National Highway-5 to Kolkata, was initiated in 2009 and should have been completed by 2011. However, the company entrusted with the job raised complaints about the lack of encumbrance-free land for the project. The firm stated that it had constructed bridges and underpasses but there was no land to connect these structures to the road.
A transport operator, whose fleet comprises over 200 lorries, alleged that the project remained incomplete despite the funds having already been collected by the NHAI. “Toll charges were introduced back in 2001 when work to broaden the stretch to a four-lane was taken up. It was subsequently decided to broaden it further into a six-lane stretch. But the project remains incomplete to date and we are suffering as a result. They (NHAI) increase toll rates every year regardless of whether the road-widening has been completed or not,” he rued.
Frequent traffic jams
Meanwhile, motorists are miffed with the slow movement of traffic on the 10-km-long urban stretch from Madhavaram junction to Inner Ring Road. “There are nine junctions in the 10-km stretch, with frequent traffic jams at the fish market near Puzhal and the intersections near the Red Hills bypass. What we need is an elevated road in that stretch since officials say widening will not be possible,” said K. Suresh Kumar, an office-goer.
According to cab drivers, delays have become the norm at the toll plaza at Karanodai. “There is a queue even during non-peak hours. The personnel who handle the booths are not trained. Sometimes they are absent while at other times the booths are closed,” said P. Kumaresan, who works as a driver.
