CHENNAI: The much-anticipated double-tier elevated corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal is facing significant delays due to multiple bottlenecks, including delayed handover of land along Cooum, monsoon restrictions imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), and daytime traffic curbs on construction vehicles.
The 20.6-km, four-lane elevated expressway, revived in 2022 after a decade-long hiatus, is now scheduled for completion only by February 2027, nearly nine months behind its earlier target of May 2026.
According to official data presented in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question raised by P Wilson, progress across all four construction packages varies from 3 per cent to less than 10 per cent, despite the work commencing in January 2024.
Package 1, with a cost of Rs 1,388.59 crore, has achieved 7.74% progress, while it is 5.45% progress in the case of package 2 that costs Rs 1,616.97 crore. The best of the four when it comes to progress is the Rs 1,299.36-crore package 3 (9.65%), while package 4, estimated at Rs 1,205.40 crore, has recorded the lowest progress at 2.99%.
In addition to the common issues faced by all packages, package 4 is also delayed due to the late submission and approval of retrofitting designs for existing piers and pending traffic permissions along NH-48, the government said.
Delays are largely attributed to the Water Resources Department’s (WRD) slow handover of the Cooum river boundary and the NGT’s seasonal work restrictions between October and December 2024. Additionally, traffic police restrictions on moving construction vehicles during daytime hours have hampered work efficiency.
All four packages are being executed by J Kumar Infrastructure, with a total cost of Rs 5,510 crore. The project includes a 12.5-km double-decker stretch from Napier Bridge to Koyambedu. The lower tier will cater to local traffic with 13 ramps, while the upper tier is exclusively for port-bound heavy vehicles.