Rs. 66-crore fillip for road repair work in city

Projects worth a total of Rs. 250 crore for Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu divisions

TAMBARAM 28 NOVEMBER 2011 FOR CITY CAPTION: Traffic on Perumbakkam Main Road (Medavakkam to Sholinganallur) was crippled as it came under water and also due to potholes that were hidden under the water. It took a good two hours to cover 4.5 kilometres on Monday morning. Photo: A.Muralitharan. Story by K.Manikandan.

Road work projects in the city and surrounding areas are set to get a Rs. 250-crore fillip soon.

The highways department is processing tenders for road improvement and widening works in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu.

The budget for the work has been sanctioned by the State government under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme (CRIDP) for 2012-13.

A total of Rs. 66 crore has been sanctioned for Chennai, Rs. 92 crore for Tiruvallur and Rs. 93 crore for Chengalpattu division, an official said.

Upgrading facilities

In Chennai, the work entails increasing the height of the Medavakkam-Sholinganallur Road to prevent water stagnation.

“The height of the road will be increased by one metre. Last year, there was heavy water stagnation on this major thoroughfare. The road will also be widened uniformly and turned into a four-lane. A portion of GST Road near Tambaram will also be widened,” the official said.

Various facilities including the grade separators at Padi, Guindy and Koyambedu, the flyover at Meenambakkam, and the subway near Shanthi theatre on Anna Salai will be beautified under CRIDP. The works are expected to commence by January 1.

Road strengthening

In Tiruvallur, 169 km of roads and seven minor bridges will be strengthened.

Mount-Poonamallee-Avadi Road, Vanagaram-Ambattur-Puzhal Road, 5 km of Chennai-Ennore Expressway, Chennai-Ennore Road, Korattur-Thinnanur-Periyapayalam Salai and Thirumazhisai-Uthukottai Salai will get additional tar topping.

Several roads will be widened. These include the Kanakamma Chatram to Thakkolam lane (single lane to intermediate lane), Koratalayar bridge to Puthur Road (double lane to multi lane), Medur to Gummidipoondi Road (single lane to intermediate lane), and GNT Road to Siruvapuri Murugan temple (single to intermediate lane). Work on these stretches is expected to be completed in 6 months’ time.

Widening work

In the Chengalpattu division, which has more than 2,000 km of road length, 45 projects will be undertaken.

These include widening of the 23-km-long Pallur to Sogandi road, 14 km of the stretch from GST Road to Cheyyur and Poonamallee to Kundrathur Road.

Three minor bridges too, will be widened. Two stretches in Kelambakkam and Uthiramerur will be white-topped to repair damage due to water stagnation.