CMDA initiates report on linking ECR and OMR

As per the plan, CMDA will create new roads and bridges over the Buckingham canal to link the roads.

According to an official, the CMDA has invited consultants to study the areas along the two roads and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to link them. “The Buckingham canal is running parallel to and in between OMR and ECR. Hence, any linkages between the two roads will involve a crossing over the canal,” a CMDAofficial said.

Presently, there are only three major links between OMR and ECR within the study area that are between Tiruvanmiyur and Navalur. Of the three linkages, two are in Tiruvanmiyur and are close to each other, with only 700 metres separating them. The third link, Sholinganallur Main Road, is about 10 km away from the other two. As per the Second Master Plan, the project area is classified as residential, mixed-use and industrial, and is earmarked as IT Corridor area.

“There are other minor bridges across the Buckingham Canal, but they don’t provide direct access to OMR and ECR. The DPR will be prepared with the help of Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL). Currently, limited connectivity between these two important roads leads to detours, longer travel times and traffic congestion in the areas served by these roads,” the source added.

As a part of the proposal, the planning body would also study the peak hour traffic and traffic delay along the ECR and OMR, and in the existing link roads. “The study will also assess the possibility of minimising the land acquisition and widening existing link roads,” an official said.

Meanwhile, the CMDA is also conducting studies to create grid of road system to connect the major arterial roads, including Outer Ring Road, GST Road, Trunk Road, Chennai Bypass Road and MTH Road.