166 city roads to be repaired before monsoon

Moving quickly to repair the damaged stretches before the Northeast monsoon sets in, the Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to begin work on bus route roads in the city by the end of the month. Official sources added that project management consultants would be appointed to monitor the quality of the work.

According to the Corporation, 117 km of roads in all the 15 zones of the civic body would be taken up for repair. “We have floated tenders inviting contractors on Friday. In total, 166 roads will be taken up for repair at a cost of Rs 107 crore,” an official said. The civic body would finalise bids for the selected roads on August 20 and the work would be completed before the onset of monsoon.

Major bus routes selected for repair are EVK Sampath Road, Perambur Barracks Road, Gandhi Road, NSK Salai, Cathedral Road, North Usman Road and Greams Road.

A few months ago, the civic body had prepared detailed project report for complete and partial relaying of bus routes of 310 km under Chennai Mega City Development Mission (CMCDM) and Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF) funds. However, an official clarified that only 117 km would be taken up for repair during the first phase.

Meanwhile, the civic body also has decided to appoint a project management consultant to monitor the works and to assess the quality of roads.

It may be noted that the civic body had commenced repairing 2,828 interior roads in the city. However, the works were delayed due to COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown it brought about. The official added that the restoration of the interior road project would also be taken up before the monsoon.

The Corporation maintains as many as 34,893 interior roads and streets, extending up to 5,623 km, of which 1292.54 km of roads are cement roads.