As part of phase II of the Oragadam Industrial Corridor Project, work to widen a 12-km stretch of the Singaperumal Koil–Sriperumbudur Road is expected to commence in a few months.
The road connecting Oragadam to the Chennai-Bangalore Highway (NH4) has traffic of around 30,000 passenger car units passing through every day.
The four-lane road is being made into a six-lane facility at a cost of Rs. 86.65 crore by the Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC). After the widening, the road would have two service lanes each on either side. Land acquisition for the project is nearing completion. The work is expected to be completed by mid-2015.
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According to sources in the TNRIDC, as traffic converging from out of Oragadam uses this road that sees the maximum PCU of all the roads under the project, the government decided to widen it. Tenders for the project are under evaluation.
Meanwhile, as part of phase I of the Rs. 462-crore project, traffic on a grade separator coming up at the Oragadam junction has been allowed on one side. This is to help reduce congestion at the junction of the Vandalur–Wallajahbad and Singaperumal Koil–Sriperunbudur roads.
G. Raman, who runs a business in Oragadam, said traffic was being allowed on the flyover for the past few days. “There have been times when traffic jams have lasted two to three hours. Once, it took nearly five hours to sort it out. There are several major companies in the area and when all of them finish work for the day and the employees leave in buses, traffic jams occur,” he said.
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“Traffic is being allowed temporarily on the right side of the grade separator from the Vandalur side to Wallajahbad. And on the right hand side, service lane traffic proceeding from Wallajahbad to Chennai is being allowed,” an official said.
Around 60 per cent of the left portion of the grade separator has been completed. Of the 42 piers, 36 have been completed and of the 44 deck slabs, 33 have been completed.
The approach on the Vandalur side has been completed and the one on the Wallajahbad side is under progress.
The Rs. 20.80-crore facility is expected to be completed by June. Phase I of the project is likely to be completed by March 2014.