Traffic at Kathipara and Butt Road expected to witness a drastic reduction
Chennai: Are you an exasperated commuter tired of negating traffic on Kathipara grade separator and Butt Road while traveling to Porur from Eekaatuthangal and surroundings? Your traffic worries might just end in a while.
The state PWD (public works department) has embarked on a new road project aimed at making commuting easy for light motor vehicle users heading to Porur from 100ft (Jawaharlal Nehru Salai).
PWD along with Chennai Corporation plans to eliminate bottleneck at Kathipara besides reducing LMV density on Mount-Poonamallee High Road by laying a 25ft wide two-lane tar road to a length of 3kms on the bank of Adyar River from MIOT hospital to Jaffarkhanpet.
From MIOT hospital, the road will run left for a kilometer (Nandambakkam side) till Burma Colony. An existing small causeway across the river in Burma Colony would be replaced with a new bridge and from there the road will run left till Jaffarkhanpet (Kasi Theater side), senior PWD sources revealed to Deccan Chronicle.
However, encroachment as usual stands in the way of the road project.
A recently concluded preliminary land survey has put the encroachments at about 600 buildings (on the 3km stretch), mostly residential buildings ranging from thatched roofs to multi-storied apartments, officials disclosed, adding that the tentative project estimate of '50 crore also includes building retaining walls to the full width and depth of the river, re-grading the river bed to ensure smooth and gravitational flow of water till the maximum flood level and construction of the new bridge at Burma Colony besides the laying of the actual road.
The new road would reduce the travel between MIOT and Eekatuthangal by 5kms, PWD officials said conceding that they would only execute the project and the city corporation has to bear the cost.
“We have already expressed our inability to fund the project. Corporation mooted the idea and it has to bear the cost. Since the River is involved, we will execute it. Slum Clearance Board also has to pitch in since it involves large-scale displacement,” PWD sources said adding that corporation has initially proposed to allow only cars and two wheelers on the road.
