Work to widen Kaliamman Koil Street, a crucial link between Arcot Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, will be launched after the northeast monsoon. The project will help ease congestion near the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu.
The widening, to be carried out in phases by the Chennai Corporation, is expected to develop Kaliamman Koil Street as an alternative to many users of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai. The Chennai Metro Rail work in and around Koyambedu is also expected to gain momentum in the months ahead.
Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi on Tuesday chaired a meeting in which officials of various agencies that would be involved in widening of Kaliamman Koil Street participated.
According to officials who attended the meeting, it has been decided to widen a 3-km stretch of the road by 3.6 metre in the first phase. This work is likely to be completed by April 2012 and estimated to cost Rs.90 lakh. The first phase of the project would not involve land acquisition. It would include removal of encroachments on the road to make way for parking space on the sides.
The Chennai Corporation would prepare a detailed project report with the help of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority for widening the road to suit long-term requirements, said Corporation Commissioner D.Karthikeyan. The government had directed the civic body a few years ago to widen the road to tackle heavy traffic caused by the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus based on an ‘Impact study on the CMBT'. According to CMDA sources, the land plan schedule has already been prepared in 2003-2004 following the request of the Corporation for widening the road to 27 metre throughout the stretch. The existing width of Kaliamman Koil Street varies from 6 metre to 27 metre. But the second phase of the widening is likely to improve the road's width considerably, including better pedestrian facilities, and necessitate acquisition of land.
