CHENNAI: The State government on Tuesday received the go-ahead from the Tamil Nadu Assembly to proceed with a project to construct the much-awaited link road between the East Coast Road (ECR) and the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) at Neelangarai. The Highways Department, which will execute the project, has quietly been working on the project for well over a year, and is close to putting the finishing touches on the Detailed Project Report, which will require only minimal land acquisition.
The ECR-OMR link road at Neelangarai is one part of a twin project. Another similar road would be built at Palavakkam. Sources in the Highways Department said that the two roads were meant to function as two one-ways, handling traffic in opposite directions.
“They will not be two different two-way link roads. They will be two one-ways, close to each other. They will both be nine metres in breadth and we have finalised the alignment along two existing roads, which are at present seven metres breadth each. The critical component of the project will be the bridges across the Buckingham Canal. It is the absence of bridges that has so far prevented any link roads,” said a senior Highways Department official.
The Neelangarai link road had received administrative approval earlier, and was placed before the Assembly for its go-ahead by Finance and Public Works Minister O Panneerselvam as part of the first supplementary estimates of the State Budget on Tuesday. He announced that the government had set aside only a summary amount of `1,000 for the project.
The Neelangarai link road alone would cost `204.2 crore. With the exception of the `1,000 set aside by the government, the entire cost of the project would be footed by the Highways Department by re-allocating funds that had been given to it by the Assembly earlier this year.
Now that the Assembly too has approved the project, work will continue to complete land acquisition works. All land transfer from a handful of private individuals and some government departments would have to be completed before the commencement of construction work. This is in accordance with instructions to this effect given by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa when she assumed charge in 2011, to ensure that no project is stalled mid-way because of stalled land acquisition, as has been the case with the Porur Flyover and the Tiruvottiyur Road widening project.
“We can call for tenders for the project once the GO is issued. This could take up to six months. In the meanwhile, we have quite a few tasks to complete, such as the shifting of pipelines, cables and street lamps. We will not be actually starting construction work till all of this work is complete and all the necessary land has been transferred to us,” the Highways Department official added.
He added that local residents would not have cause for worry from the projects, as land acquisition would be minimal. For the most part, land for the project would be taken from the Revenue Department and the Chennai Corporation. Only small amounts of land would be acquired from local residents as the project only entail a small amount of widening along an existing road.
The tow proposed link roads between ECR and OMR at Neelangarai and Palavakkam are aimed at distributing the traffic flowing in the north-south direction along the two roads. At present, apart from the link between the two roads at Thiruvanmiyur, there are two link roads, one at Sholinganallur and the other at Kelambakkam.
But, with maximum traffic density along the stretch concentrated just before the Sholinganallur junction, OMR has been subject to snaking traffic jams at certain spots while the load on ECR has been lower. The projects are meant to distribute the congestion, while also cutting travel time and distance for those wishing to move between ECR and OMR.
Even as work continues to take the link roads closer to reality, the Highways Department is also examining the feasibility of flyovers at the Tidel Park junction and Thiruvanmiyur signal. If these ideas are found to be feasible, they might greatly add to efforts to reduce congestion along the stretch.