New roads, bridges to streamline city traffic

CHENNAI: The city is all set to get new link roads, two more grade separators and bridges across the Cooum. The initiatives are part of efforts to strengthen the burgeoning city’s transport infrastructure.Making new project announcements for 2012-13 in the State Assembly, Minister for Highways and Minor Ports Edappadi K Palaniswami said a grade separator would be constructed near Kilkattalai in the intersection of Mount-Medavakkam Main Road and Pallavaram Thuraipakkam Radial Road. Another grade separator would come up in Medavakkam, linking Maraimalai Adigal bridge-Irumbuiliyur Road, Medavakkam-Sozhinganallur Road junction, Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road and Mount-Medavakkam Road intersections.A bridge on a higher elevation would be built across the  Cooum on National Highway-4, Nolambur Road junction. Another bridge would be built across the Cooum on the road to Paruthipattu from Mount Poonamallee-Avadi Road. As regards roads, he said a new link road would be laid to extend the Pallavaram-Thuraipakkam Road till the ECR. Another one would link Medavakkam with Rajiv Gandhi Salai in Karapakkam, behind the Special Economic Zone. A 200-feet road would be laid linking the Chennai Bypass and Outer Ring Roads near Karunakaracheri. The project reports for the new initiatives would be finalised and land acquisition work would begin in the current year, he noted.Other TownsSimilarly, land acquisition work would begin for laying bypass roads in Mannachanallur, Mannargudi, Tiruvallur and Tirttani. Also, `1 crore has been allocated for a bypass road to ease traffic congestion in Taramangalam Town Panchayat in Sangagiri. Road widening work would be taken up at a cost of `740 crore during 2012-13 across Tamil Nadu under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme (CRIDP). At a cost of `322.37 crore, work for nine railway overbridges and underbridges would be taken up in Cuddalore, Tiruchy, Ramnad, Salem, Vellore, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Dindigul.