Travelling along the Ennore expressway in Chennai
Posted on: 03/Feb/2020 9:58:45 AM
There is a stretch of about 11 kms starting from Kasimedu Harbour to Ennore running along the beautiful coastline in Chennai. This stretch is also known as ECR of north Chennai. This stretch is bumpy and is making the lives of many commuters at risk now.
Point here is this 11 km stretch is a part of Rs 600 crore Ennore-Manali Road Improvement or EMRIP which includes road maintenance, expansion and improved connectivity. There is no upkeep of this road though 90 percent of the project (that began a decade back) is complete on the paper.
This road is full of pot holes and the size of craters has been making the lives of commuters along the route very difficult. For even a small mistake, a biker could pay with his or her life.
The truth is the vehicles cannot go more than 40 kmph speeds along the road though it is an expressway. The presence of massive pot holes in places like Kasimedu, Kaladipet stretch and KVK Kuppam stretch in Tiruvottriyur has been creating issues. The point is 50 accidents occur along this road with 19 fatalities. The trucks do not face issues (they go at 80 kmph to 100 kmph speeds) because they do not lose the balance but those who drive bikes could face death if they lose control.
There are also issues due to inadequate street lights and due to the presence of speed breakers at important junctions. There are as many as 10 junctions from Kasimedu and they connect smaller vehicles from interior places to the road. Those who cross the road are at huge risk due to inadequate street lights and speed breakers. Traffic police personnel revealed about how the junction connecting tollgate is important because it connects with TH. Road.
The service lane has become unusable due to the encroachment by small shops and also due to the parking of large number of trucks. This road is being maintained by NHAI and other stake holders of EMRIP are Special Purpose Vehicles of Government, Chennai Harbour and TNRDC. The lack of funds has been the issue and this was as per NHAI.
