Good news for the ECR residents regarding road widening!!
Posted on: 07/Oct/2022 9:36:42 AM
For many years, the residents belonging to the East Coast Road or ECR in Chennai have been forced to withstand the heavy traffic congestion. Now, these residents would feel relieved and delighted.
It is now brought out that tenders have been floated to widen the highway along Injambakkam, Neelankarai and Sholinganallur at a cost of Rs 104.81 Crores.
It is worthy to mention here that the portion of road between Thiruvanmiyur and Akkarai is under the control of the state Highways department. This portion of road forms a link road to all major tourist attractions like Muttukadu boat house, Kovalam, Crocodile Park and Mamallapuram etc.
Truth is that some areas along the highway were brought under the control of GCC limits, the road was unable to cater to the traffic and has become an accident spot. In the peak hours, more than 7300 cars use this highway in Chennai and the vehicle frequency is predicted to increase by 5% every year on this stretch.
Any Indian highway that witnesses more than 6000 vehicles per hour must have atleast 6 lanes. This was according to the IRC or Indian Road Congress. It is true that this stretch has got just 2 lanes and it would take nearly 40 to 45min to cross the 1km stretch.
The Highways department has started the road widening works in Kottivakkam and in Palavakkam. There are 6 major revenue villages present in this stretch is a known fact. The court cases associated with the land acquisition has led to delay in the works along other villages here. At the Injambakkam village, the land acquisition works have been completed after many years. Information is that compensation is being issued to the patta owners in Neelankarai and Sholinganallur villages.
It must not be forgotten that in the month of July the Highways department secretary grabbed many eyeballs when he ordered to convert this section of ECR into a 6-lane road. He stressed the importance of the SWD plus on the pedestrian platforms and wide road intersections etc.
It was later mentioned by a resident activist from Kottivakkam that the move to convert the road into 6-lane was superb as it would lead to decongestion of traffic. He added that the residents here were anxious regarding the issue of overspeeding. Rash driving and many accidents occur on the ECR in Chennai and time has come for the TN government to monitor vehicle speeds by fixing speed monitoring cameras etc.
