Work to widen the 10.5-km stretch of East Coast Road from Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai is likely to commence next year.
The State government recently gave revised administrative sanction for acquiring land and providing compensation for building structures. A total of Rs.354 crore has been sanctioned for the purpose.
The government had given a token amount of Rs.10 crore for land acquisition in 2005-06. Nearly 700 persons, who own property, will be compensated. A major part of land acquisition proceedings has been completed and only payment of compensation and taking possession of lands remain. Sources in the Highways Department, which will take up the work, said the road would be uniformly 30.5 mt wide (100 feet).
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Presently, the stretch covering six revenue villages, including Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Vettuvankani, has width varying between 50 ft and 80 ft. According to traffic studies, at least 10,000 passenger car units (PCUs) use the stretch during rush hour and a total 40,000 PCUs through the day.
After widening, the stretch would have six lanes, a 1.2-mt-wide median, footpath-cum-stormwater drain. Already, following requests from traffic police, a median has been provided for the entire stretch to avoid accidents. Between January and June, 17 fatal accidents were recorded.