Northern Port Access Road, one more project to improve connectivity to the Ennore port has been proposed to the State government. Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) recently submitted a proposal in this regard to the government.
According to sources at TIDCO, a new four-lane road from the northern gate of Ennore port to Panchetti near Thatchur on National Highway 5 could be developed for a distance of 21.1 km. A link road could be laid from the new road to Tiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti Road, running to a distance of 4.3 km near Vallur.
The proposed road would provide direct access to NH 5 from the Ennore port and the upcoming port of L&T. Apart from cargo laden vehicles from and to these two ports, the Northern Port Access Road would benefit vehicles taking the TPP Road and Inner Ring Road from the Chennai port and bound for NH 5.
The road between the Ennore port and Panchetti would have its alignment along nine villages, including Kattupalli, Ariyanvoyal, Nallur, Vellampakkam and Vannivakkam. TPP link road to be created would cover the villages of Kollatur, Nandiambakkam and Vallur. Nearly 90 per cent of the road passes through vacant lands. An estimated 70 structures are likely to be affected.
Once the work on Outer Ring Road and the Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project is completed and connected to Northern Port Access Road, free flow of traffic and better connectivity could be ensured in the region where major investments are being made, according to sources in TIDCO.
As per traffic volume projections, the proposed road would be used by nearly 32,000 passenger car units use daily by 2013 and this is bound to increase to about 50,000 by 2020. Similarly, the projected volume of traffic on TPP Link Road is expected to be 5,400 PCUs daily in 2013 and 7,600 PCUs daily by 2020.
Though the National Highways Authority of India had completed the feasibility report in 2008, it could not implement the project. The proposal suggested that the government take up the project from the NHAI and acquire about 560 acres required for developing the road.
The total project cost is estimated to be nearly Rs.374 crore, excluding the land acquisition cost. The proposal suggested that the project could be implemented on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis and the Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation may be appointed as managing associates of the project.
