CHENNAI: Padi rotary interchange was thrown open for traffic on Friday by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who declared it open from his hospital room at Ramachandra Medical College, where he is recuperating after a spinal surgery for back pain. The foundation stone for the project was also laid by him on 1 February, 2005.
The interchange is aimed at improving access to the golden quadrilateral for traffic originating from Chennai.
Traffic jams at NH205 junction over which the interchange is built will now be relieved as its four approaches from Anna Nagar, Padi, Red Hills and Villivakkam will enable uninterrupted flow of traffic.
Inaugurating the ceremony, the Chief Minister said through video conferencing: “Many foundation stones remain as they are but during this rule you see them converted into roads and bridges.” The interchange built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been completed at a cost of Rs 125 crore, of which Rs 52.81 crore went towards land acquisition, Rs 10.58 crore towards shifting of utlities and Rs 61.31 towards the actual construction of the interchange.
The Padi interchange is part of a larger project to improve access to the golden quadrilateral and comprises of Kathipara, Koyambedu and Airport grade separators apart from the Padi interchange.