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Work to demolish 17 existing piers of the 20.6-km-long Chennai Port – Maduravoyal corridor is under way.
It will now be constructed as a double-decker corridor at an estimated cost of ₹5,500 crore.
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The piers are located along the Cooum at Egmore and Thousand Lights, and objections had been raised about the location of these piers.
In its new avatar, the corridor that will allow heavy vehicles to and from the Chennai Port on the second level will have 605 piers, including those which will hold up 13 ramps. The contractor is presently arranging for rigs to dig holes to construct piers. Platforms are being prepared for the same. With two test piles having been completed, more are being carried out at present, explained sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Construction of 64 houses in lieu of those being demolished on Navy land near the port for the double decker is underway. “This land is required for the final connectivity of 120 metres to the port. Vehicles can directly enter the port crossing gate 10. The new houses are coming up behind the golf links in Nandanam at a cost of ₹62 crore. These would be completed by May 2025 and only after that would the existing houses on Navy lands be demolished,” said sources.
The concessionaire is also involved in removing lamp posts and barricades along the median at Maduravoyal. The double decker that will have a toll plaza on the second level is expected to be completed by May 2026. The final hurdles in the form of land acquisition has been removed with the award being passed for the same. A total of ₹91 crore is to be given by the State government for 4,800 sq mt at Arumbakkam.