The industrial belt of the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway beyond Poonamallee is set to become busier in the coming years once the Thirumazhisai bus terminus is thrown open to the public.
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is planning to build the integrated mofussil bus terminus at Kuthambakkam village, near Thirumazhisai.
Spread over 25 acres of land on an outlay of ₹314 crore, the terminus will achieve the twin objectives of easing traffic congestion in Koyambedu and provide the much-needed public transport facility to nearly 40,000 people working in the industrial complexes, including SIPCOT.
Land ready
D. Karthikeyan, Member-Secretary, CMDA, said the construction of the bus terminus would take off in the coming months as the designated land, which had been used as a temporary vegetable market until recently, was now available.
He said, “The integrated bus terminus, built on the lines of the one at Kilambakkam, will be completed within 18 months.”
With an area of 1 lakh sq m, the bus terminal would have two cellar floors for parking facility, ground floor for shops and booking offices, a mezzanine floor and a first floor.
It would also have a sewage treatment plant, an effluent treatment plant, a RO plant, rooms for the crew, toilets, shopping area and dormitory.
N. Srinivasa Rao, Superintending Engineer, CMDA, said that with a capacity to accommodate 225 buses, including those of private operators, State Transport Corporation and Metropolitan Transport Corporation, the terminus would provide a seamless travel experience for commuters.
More than 15% (4 acres) of the 25 acre site would be allotted for greenery and 10% (2.5 acres) for car parking. A separate water tank, a vehicle washing area, a workshop, an electricity substation and a petrol pump were planned on the premises, Mr. Rao said.
R. Elango, social activist and former president of the Kuthambakkam village panchayat, said that being part of the satellite township comprising Kuthambakkam, Thirumazhisai, Chembarambakkam and nearby villages, the facility would boost commercial activities in the township and improve public transport.
‘Small bus needed’
S. Thyagarajan, who runs a factory in the SIPCOT complex at Irungattukottai, said the Transport Department should think beyond Thirumazhisai while planning public transport for the people working in several factories at Irungattukottai, Thirumudivakkam and Sriperumbudur.
He said that as the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway was set to become an industrial corridor, the Department should operate at least link buses or small bus services to the terminus.
CMDA officials said with the Dr. MGR bus terminus in Koyambedu in operation and the Madhavaram bus terminus having been completed, city residents would have transport hubs in the south and west sections once the Kilambakkam and Kuthambakkam bus termini were completed.
These two facilities would considerably ease the pressure on the Koyambedu bus terminus.
