If all goes well, four major avenue roads in Ashok Nagar may soon turn into idyllic settings for morning jogs and evening walks. With 10-feet-wide footpaths, cycle tracks, street furniture, bus shelters and more trees, the roads would also offer improved motoring experience.
Stup Consultants has suggested modifications on the roads that run to a length of 3 km — Ashok Nagar 1 Avenue, 11 Avenue, 4 Avenue and Dr. Ambedkar Salai. These will be upgraded to world-class standards and are part of the 30 roads identified for the project by the Chennai Corporation.
As the roads are wide in most stretches, cycle paths would be created. The carriageway will have medians. Varieties of trees that are indigenous and homogeneous are also being chosen to be planted. The footpath would be 6 inches high uniformly.
The consultants recently submitted the detailed project report for the four roads to the civic body. Following this, mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy, Corporation commissioner D. Karthikeyan and other officials inspected the roads on Saturday. They have directed the engineers to identify encroachments on these roads to ensure that work progresses smoothly.
“At present, footpaths in many places are not standardised. Coordination meetings with other departments are being held to ensure that utilities are shifted. The estimates would be drawn up soon. The tendering process will take two months and as soon as that is over, work will begin,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the consultant is also working on detailed project reports of the other roads. The State Government has given in-principle administrative sanction for the upgrade.
V. Bhuvana, a resident of Jafferkhanpet, said: “Walking along 11 Avenue or crossing that stretch at any point is a nightmare. Traffic policemen cannot be present throughout the day.
State transport buses that ply on the stretch block a major portion of the road. Some solution must be devised for safety of pedestrians and to enable smooth flow of traffic.”
