THOOTHUKUDI: The East Coast Road (ECR) between Nagapattinam to Thoothukudi stretching 332 km is all set to be converted into four lanes at an estimated cost of Rs 7000 crore, said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Project Director YA Raut.
The proposed road Nagapattinam-Thoothukudi section (NH-32) passes through the coastal districts of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi. The existing two-lane ECR will be widened under the Bharatmala Phase I (Revised PIB) scheme, and 90% greenfield and 10% existing road lands have to be acquired for the project. It may be noted that the NHAI handed over the 126-km-long Thoothukudi-Kanyakumari ECR stretch to the Tamil Nadu government in August this year.
As per the Detail Project Report (DPR) for Nagapattinam-Thoothukudi NH, the project includes the construction of 47 Small Vehicular Underpasses (SVUPs), 22 major bridges, 45 Light Vehicular Underpasses, 11 major bridges over ponds and 669 new box culverts. It also includes widening works for 49 major bridges and six minor bridges to be widened.
Speaking to TNIE, Raut said the ECR upgradation will benefit the State socio-economically by triggering foreign trade and industrial production along the southern coast, as the road connects the major harbour cities of Chennai and Thoothukudi.
The ECR will facilitate movements for defence vehicles, machinery for thermal power plants, ISRO projects, the atomic research centre at Koodankulam, and other vital installations dotting the southern coromandel coastal strip. Also, it will enhance the mobility of vehicles for the upcoming oil and gas mega projects. It could potentially boost tourism alongside small fishing harbours that would come up in the area. The project is approximately estimated to cost Rs 7,000 crore, Raut said and added that the stretch may house an emergency landing strip to aid Indian Air Force (IAF) planes.
A senior official told TNIE that the road alignment passes outside the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), except for five bridges proposed over creeks, and clarification of the applicability of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) has been sought from the department concerned. Besides, no forest area is affected by the project, he said.
With regard to the land acquisition process, the NHAI had sent proposals to the Tamil Nadu government to appoint five Competent Land Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) officials for NH-45A at Nagapattinam, NH-45C and 67 at Thiruvarur, NH-210 and 226 at Pudukottai, creation of a new CALA at Ramanathapuram and NH-47 at Nagercoil, which is pending with the Highways and Minor Ports Department, though Rs 11 crore has already been allocated for the land acquisition process, the official added.