CHENNAI: State Highways Minister Aadhav Arjuna has said the Tamil Nadu government would approach the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to widen the existing Chennai-Kanniyakumari National Highway into a six/eight-lane corridor.
Speaking to reporters recently, the minister said that, following the chief minister’s directions, the state government has decided to urge the union government to upgrade all major national highways in Tamil Nadu to six/eight lanes and develop new expressways across the state.
The minister also said the state government plans to develop more expressways through an open and transparent tendering process. “There will be no pre-fixing of tenders for any road project in the state. We are committed to developing more expressways,” Arjuna said.
At present, the Tambaram-Chettipunniyam stretch of the Chennai-Kanniyakumari National Highway has been widened to eight lanes, while a proposal to expand the Chettipunniyam-Tindivanam section to six lanes has been submitted to the union government for approval.
“The state government had earlier held a meeting for upgrading the entire Chengalpattu-Kanniyakumari stretch to six lanes. However, the proposal did not materialise as planned. If the state government submits a fresh proposal to widen the Chennai-Kanniyakumari corridor to six lanes, we will examine it,” an NHAI official said.
During an inspection of the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) in Tiruvallur on Friday, Arjuna said the government is also planning to revise highway specifications in industrial corridors to withstand the movement of heavy freight vehicles.
“To prevent premature damage to highways in industrial areas, we will enhance the quality standards,” he said.
The 133-km CPRR stretches from Ennore Port to Poonjeri near Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road (ECR), passing through Thatchur, the Tiruvallur Bypass, Sriperumbudur and Singaperumal Koil. About 60% of the first phase, covering the 30-km stretch from Ennore to Thatchur, has been completed.
“The first phase from Ennore to Thatchur will be completed next year. Work on the second phase, from Thatchur to the Tiruvallur Bypass, is progressing well and will be opened soon,” the minister said.
