ECR widening 85% done; two months for completion

Chennai: The long-delayed six-lane widening of the 10.5km East Coast Road (ECR) stretch from Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai is now 85% complete. Officials said that the remaining work will be finished in two months.The highways dept is yet to acquire land between Kottivakkam and Akkarai in some parts, and near VGP, where about 30 houses are yet to be acquired. "We have issued notices and the owners are being brought into discussions to get the land at an appropriate price. This will be done soon," a highways official said.In other parts, the highways department has also laid roads in the expanded areas, but the stretch in some parts remains unusable due to vehicles being parked on the sixth lane. The highways department recently tried to cordon off the sixth lane partially using bricks to avoid parking. But residents opposed this as it beats the purpose of widening, and the bricks were later removed.Though highways engineers maintain that most civil work is done, the incomplete patches continue to disrupt traffic flow, with motorists navigating uneven surfaces and narrowed carriageways in parts of Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Vettuvankeni.K Nanaveethan, a commuter, said the encroachments that were removed for the widening works were back again. "After Thiruvanmiyur, we could spot several tiffin stalls and juice shops in the carriageway. Because of this, many vehicles are forced to carry on in the first and second lanes only. On the opposite side from Uthandi to Thiruvanmiyur, there's heavy congestion to enter Adyar," he said.Commuters also urged highways and traffic police to allow a thoroughfare at Uthandi junction rather than allow a U-turn on Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai, which is a half-km detour.Highways officials also said they have begun soil testing at 400 points for the six-lane 2,100 crore elevated corridor from Thiruvanmiyur to Uthandi. The 13km-long flyover will be a toll-charged corridor managed by the state highways.
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