CHENNAI: Chennaiites could have restricted access to the `3,500-crore six-lane project from Maduravoyal to Chennai Port as officials fear granting access to local transport would reduce the life span of the elevated corridor.
Travelling on the 20.3-km elevated corridor from Maduravoyal to Chennai Port which was initially supposed to decongest container traffic on busy roads such as Anna Salai and Poonamallee Highway could be a costly affair for motorists as they have to pay a high-value toll fee to access the elevated highway.
This comes as the officials fear granting access to local traffic would result in the corridor reaching saturation level in the next 10 to 12 years. A top official of the National Highway Authority of India told Express that the NHAI was against granting access to local vehicles.
NHAI sources told Express that as per the traffic projections, on an average, about 25 per cent of the total traffic would be local traffic on the elevated corridor. Restricting the traffic on the elevated corridor would enhance the capacity of the corridor for another 10 years, the sources said.So, the NHAI is seeking the concurrence of the state government on denying access to ramps for local traffic and if the access is granted then it should be only through paying the toll.
Highway sources said the final DPR has been currently planned to provide eight ramps. These include entry ramp from Sivananda Salai, exit ramp to Kamarajar Salai, entry ramp from College Road, exit ramp at Spur Tank Road, entry and exit ramps between Arumbakkam and Koyambedu, entry and exit ramp between Chennai Metro Rail and Nerkundram, entry and exit ramp near Vanagaram at the end of the project and entry and exit ramp inside Chennai Port.
It is learnt that the capacity standards of the corridor, which has a deck width of 26 metres, will be restricted to 41,000 vehicles as it is ‘Graded B’ in Level of Service adopted for the design of the Highway. Level of Service is a qualitative measure used for indicating the traffic conditions in terms of speed, travel time, freedom to manoeuvre, comfort, convenience, traffic interruptions and safety etc.
The initial `1,800 crore Maduravoyal-Chennai Port project, which was started during the DMK regime in 2008, hit a roadblock in March 2012 after the Water Resources Department issued a ‘stop work’ notice saying alignment of the corridor along the banks of the Cooum had deviated from the original alignment as the NHAI had erected 32 pillars right on the Cooum river-bed near Spur Tank Road and College Road instead of constructing the pillars on the river bank.