CHENNAI: One of the arterial roads in the suburbs connecting Maduravoyal and Alapakkam is all set for expansion at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 8 crore.
The two-way stretch linking Arcot Road, Valasaravakkam and Poonamalle High Road, would soon be upgraded into four-lane capacity, thereby enabling seamless movement of vehicles, particularly trucks carrying goods.
“From 10 metres, the width of the road would be increased up to 25 metres,” an official from the state highways department told DC on condition of anonymity.
At present, the width of the road is reduced up to six metres in certain stretches (Arcot Road to Maduravoyal) because of encroachments, the official added. “Besides commercial establishments, some colleges have set up temporary parking lots along either side of the road.”
Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) had apparently stopped services along this 2.9 km two-way stretch citing the poor condition of roads. Nearly '2.3 crore was spent on laying tar roads in 2015 after the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) wound up its expansion works. However, conditions worsened over the years and it was back to square one.
To put an end to this permanently, the state highways department had proposed to expand it into a four-lane road earlier this year and it received administrative sanction recently. Expansion work is likely to be taken up along the 600-metre stretch connecting Arcot road during the first phase.
Of the 64,500 sq.ft of land required for this, nearly 40 percent of the land is already available to the government and notices have been issued by the local revenue authorities to nearly 60 individuals who are encroaching government land, the highway official said. “Nearly 2.5 lakh sq.ft of land is necessary for expansion during the second stage.”
Similar upgradation work is taken along 427 km of two-lane roads across the state in 2017-18 through different funding modes.
