Work on Tambaram elevated corridor to begin soon

CHENNAI: In a major relief to the vehicles bound for central and southern parts of the State, the NHAI is all set to start work on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu elevated corridor at Rs 3,523 crore in the next few months.

The construction of the 6-lane elevated road, which will start at Perungalathur and end beyond Paranur toll plaza, would ease the heavy traffic congestion witnessed along the busy stretch.

Heavy traffic congestion

According to the NHAI officials, the detailed project report (DPR) for the 94-km Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch of the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) road has been completed.

“The construction work on the 27-km Tambaram-Chengalpattu elevated corridor would be taken up this year,” the official clarified.

There has been heavy traffic congestion on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu stretch throughout the day, as it’s lined with commercial, industrial and residential areas. At any time during the day, there are around 1.53 lakh vehicles plying on the stretch.

It has also become an accident hotspot with 12 black spots. “The elevated corridor will help reduce accidents, as heavy vehicles including buses, trucks, and cars can take the elevated road, thereby decongesting the existing stretch,” the official added.

As per the DPR, the projected traffic on the elevated corridor in 2030 would be 63,605 passenger car units (PCUs) while the at-grade road would have more than 82,100 PCUs.

The elevated corridor would have entry and exit ramps at the Kilambakkam bus terminus, Potheri near SRM College, and Mahindra World City. According to the DPR, the length of the corridor would be 25.29 km, including 5.05 km at the second level over the existing grade separators and flyovers.

Chengalpattu-Tindivanam stretch (67.1 km)

The 67.1 km long Chengalpattu-Tindivanam stretch of the GST will be upgraded to 8 lanes with service roads on both sides from the existing 4 lanes.

Considering the increasing traffic volume, the stretch is being widened for Rs 3,458 crore.

As per the DPR, the 6-lane elevated corridor is proposed in built-up areas along the stretch including Mamandur town, Padalam junction, Karunguzhi junction, Madhurantakam town and Saram village. This would 13.13 km long including 1.86 km long on the second level in the 67.1 km stretch.

At Melmaruvathur and Acharapakkam, the NHAI would be building an elevated road at the second level over the existing vehicular underpass (VUPs).

Also, the Chengalpattu-Tindivanam stretch has 20 black spots.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), an accident black spot is a road corridor of about 500 m on which either 5 road accidents, involving fatalities and grievous injuries, had been reported in the last three calendar years or 10 fatalities during the last three years.

“The eight-lane grade separator (VUPs/flyovers) is proposed at major junctions and all black spot junctions,” said the official.

The NHAI would be constructing two-lane bridges on either side of the existing Palar bridge to ease the movement of vehicles and thereby reduce congestion. As per the DPR, the projected traffic on the stretch is 1.26 lakh PCUs in 2040 as against the existing 57,300 PCUs.

TN component of GST waived?

The MoRTH has written to Chief Minister Stalin seeking to know the State government’s decision on the demand for waiving the State component of the GST for the elevated corridor projects, the official said.

The NHAI has proposed to take up 4 elevated corridors — Maduravoyal-Sriperumbudur section (23.2 km) on the Chennai Bengaluru highway, Madhavaram junction (10.4 km) to Outer Ring road on the Chennai-Kolkata highway, Tambaram-Chengalpattu section (27 km) of the Grand Southern Trunk road and the Tiruchy-Thuvakudi stretch (14 km) of the Tiruchy Thanjavur highway.

Officials of the State Highways department pointed out that the State government had already waived the royalty it collects on minerals like gravel and aggregate to be used in the construction at the request of the NHAI.

“The State government is yet to decide on the GST waiver. The NHAI is anyway collecting the toll to recover the project cost,” the official added.