CHENNAI: After more than three years since the work on Rs 1,800 crore Maduravoyal-Chennai Port elevated corridor has stopped, there is hope that the deadlock could be broken with the change in alignment.
Chennai Port Trust chairman M A Bhaskarachar told Express that a fresh alignment is being worked out to break the deadlock with the state government.
Sources indicated that it is likely that the fresh alignment may cut down the length of the elevated corridor. “Chennai Port Trust trustee S Senthil Kumar said that fesh alignment could reduce the length of the corridor substantially.
Refusing to give out details on how much the alignment would be reduced, Kumar said that the plan is that project should be completed within the proposed budget of Rs 1,800 crore, which was estimated earlier.
The government has till now allocated only six kilometre of land for the project. The work on the corridor was stalled after Water Resources Department directed NHAI to stop work on the elevated road project stating that that pile caps constructed for the project obstructed the free flow of water in the Cooum.
Meanwhile, the Ennore Manali Road Improvement project is likely to be completed befor the next financial year. “Ninety-nine per cent work on EMRIP is completed. Only one per cent is remaining and we hope it will be completed after the bottlenecks are cleared.
Bhaskarachar said that a shuttle train to carry cargo from Bangalore to Chennai would start functioning from December first week.
He also said that plans are also on to develop waterways inside Chennai. He said fresh efforts are being worked out to break the deadlock as Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari is keen to have the project running.