Mumbai, July 3 -- The National Highways Authority of India has decided to build a 10.3 kilometre (km) elevated corridor from Madhavaram to Nallur toll plaza on the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway after talks between the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the state government. The authority has withdrawn its earlier proposal to transfer the Madhavaram-Nallur stretch to the state highways. The decision revives a proposal first mooted in 2019.
Authorities said the earlier project stalled after disagreements over widening the existing four-lane highway to six lanes, construction of stormwater drains and land acquisition. A meeting between the ministry secretary and the Tamil Nadu chief secretary on 13 February secured assurances from the state on cooperation for drains, land acquisition and removal of encroachments. Those assurances prompted the NHAI to agree to proceed.
Officials indicated that the project will proceed subject to a waiver of the state component of goods and services tax on construction materials and finalisation of implementation modalities. An updated detailed project report and a revised financing scheme are being prepared. Further action will follow once required clearances and approvals are obtained.
As per the earlier detailed project report the six-lane elevated corridor will begin at the Madhavaram-Chennai Bypass junction and terminate at the Outer Ring Road near Nallur over a length of 10.3 km. The NHAI proposed the carriageway to address chronic congestion and to improve traffic flow on the corridor. The elevated structure is intended to reduce travel time and separate through traffic from local movements.
The Madhavaram-Nallur section currently carries around 95,000 passenger car units (PCUs) a day, which qualifies the corridor for a 10-lane highway under Indian Roads Congress guidelines. The existing four-lane stretch experiences severe congestion with motorists taking 75 to 90 minutes to traverse the roughly 10 km section at peak times. Traffic management is challenged by about 11 major and minor junctions and frequent entry of vehicles from both sides at intervals of roughly 500 metres.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.