The movement of traffic on the busy Oragadam Industrial Corridor has been hit due to the poor condition of roads, especially the service lane of a grade separator under construction at Oragadam intersection.
A whopping Rs.300 crore is being spent by the Highways Department through the Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation on the Oragadam Industrial Corridor Project. Work began in 2008 to improve and widen Vandalur – Wallajahbad Road (State Highway No. 48) and Singaperumal Koil – Sriperumbudur Road (State Highway No. 57).
An important component of the project is construction of a grade separator at Oragadam junction at a cost of Rs.21 crore. Work began in the middle of 2010 and was scheduled for completion in September. It has missed its deadline due to two important reasons – delay in shifting the overhead power supply cables and the underground drinking water supply mains carrying Palar water to Tambaram Municipality.
The Oragadam junction, ever since work on the grade separator commenced, had become a traffic hotspot and it has only worsened in the recent past due to heavy rain. The service lane created for the movement of vehicles towards Wallajahbad and Vandalur has been severely damaged.
This has resulted in the crippling of traffic, especially in the morning and evening rush hours. “A huge amount of money is spent on improving the roads and building a bridge, the least that can be done is to level the pothole-ridden stretch with gravel or at least construction rubble,” said M.Dhananjeyan, a resident of Melpadappai.
“On some days, it takes nearly an hour to cross this small stretch,” said Mr. Dhanajeyan, who is president of the Kancheepuram District Student Wing of Puratchi Bharatham. He also pointed out that when work began, several fully grown trees, that formed a beautiful umbrella over Vandalur- Wallajahbad Road were uprooted for widening. Alternate saplings were yet to be planted.
Officials said all the pillars for the grade separator were completed. But for the delay in shifting of power supply cables and water lines, the work could have reached an advanced stage of completion by now and added they were hopeful of completing it before March.
