In a few months, residents of north Chennai travelling to the city will have an alternative to heavily-congested roads.
The water resources department (WRD) will soon lay a road along north Buckingham canal for a distance of nearly 12 km.
The new road will offer motorists some relief from travelling on Manali expressway, Ennore High Road and Tondiarpet High Road that are frequented by heavy vehicles.
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The road will be laid as part of improvement works taken up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
Tenders for the project will be floated soon and work will begin by year-end.
'Officials of WRD said the road would be used as an inspection track and also to transport heavy equipment for cleaning the canal. A mud track has already been laid on one side of the canal’s bank.
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The north Buckingham canal runs for a distance of 17.3 km from Central railway station and confluences at Ennore creek.
The new road will come up between Bharathi Nagar and Korukkupet, and Nehru Nagar and IOC, for nearly 1.5 km each, and between Kargil Nagar, Tiruvottiyur and Ennore for nearly 9 km.
It will be blacktopped up to a width of 3.7 metres and there will be two-metre-wide gravel topping on either side of the road to protect the retaining wall and the canal’s bank.
“The road, which will be 7.7 metres wide, will also prevent the canal from being encroached further. Residents of localities such as Kodungaiyur and Korukkupet can use the road to reach the city faster and without much hassle,” said an official.
Work will be completed by February next year.