Highways Takes Up New Road Project to Link ECR and OMR
The company which is selected to prepare the DPR for the new project in the tender process will have to complete the report within three months
Chennai: The highways department is planning to lay a six-lane link road between the East Coast Road (ECR) and the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) from Sholinganallur to Kovalam and it issued a tender on Tuesday to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project.
The company which is selected to prepare the DPR for the new project in the tender process will have to complete the report within three months. The report should have the land measurement, traffic analysis, soil analysis, a plan to acquire the land and the estimate of the budget required for the project.
It is estimated that about 1.1 lakh people use East Coast Road every day as it is one of the major exit and entry points to Chennai city. The areas on both sides of the road are developing rapidly with the increasing number of IT companies, educational institutions, hospitals, hotels, commercial establishments and residential areas. Besides residents, workers of IT companies and students, the road is used by people moving in and out of Chennai.
At present there is only one road, the Thoraipakkam to Neelankarai road to connect East Coast Road with Old Mahabalipuram Road. People going from Sholinganallur, Siruseri and Kelambakkam to Kovalam and Mahabalipuram need to travel around 12 kilometers. The traffic congestion is also heavy and it takes more than an hour to reach Kovalam. The new road will bring down the travel time to just 10 or 15 minutes besides reducing the traffic congestion at Sholinganallur.
The new road is also aimed at drawing more vehicle users to take the East Coast Road instead of the Chennai-Tiruchy national highway. Since the Kilambakkam mofussil bus terminus is located along the Chennai-Tiruchy road, the government buses and omni buses going to the southern districts have no option but to use the road.
However, lakhs of people travelling in cars and vans use the Chennai-Tiruchy highway during the festivals and weekends, choking the traffic for hours. ECR is another entry point for Chennai and when a link is provided to the OMR also, passengers are likely to shift to the ECR and it would reduce the traffic congestion in the Chennai-Tiruchy highway. Besides, the road expansion of the East Coast Road into six lanes is expected to shift more road users to the East Coast Road and reduce the traffic on Chennai-Tiruchy national highway.
The government has already decided to take up a feasibility study for a road project between Maduranthagam and Mamallapuram allocating Rs. 80 lakh for the study. The road will start at Karunguzhi near Maduranthagam and go through Thirukkazhukundram to Poonchery near Mamallapuram for a distance of 52 kilometres. Once people reach Mamallapuram, they will be able to join the new road linking the ECR and OMR.
