Work to widen a 13.5 km-stretch of the Grand Southern Trunk Road from Guduvanchery to Chettipunyam has begun. The road has a very high vehicle count of over two lakh a day, leading to congestion on a daily basis.
The NH wing of the State Highways Department has taken up the work on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at a cost of ₹209.32 crore.
“A total of passenger car units of 1.92 lakh vehicles a day take the road. Even if the number touches one lakh a day, it is necessary to widen the road. This will help reduce accidents too since service lanes are coming up along this stretch. The space between the lane and the stormwater drain will have paver blocks,” said an official of the Highways Department. The work has been allocated to three contractors so that it can be completed within a year, which is the target set for the project. Encroachments in the range of 1 to 3 m in width have been removed all along the stretch. “We did not require any land acquisition and have only utilised the existing right of way. The cost of shifting of utility lines and transplanting trees along the route is ₹21.37 crore.
This project has been taken up as part of the upgrade of 121 km of the Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch of the GST Road by the NHAI.
Meanwhile, the widening work from Perungalathur to Guduvanchery is likely to be completed in three months.
