CM Stalin launches works on elevated road along Anna Salai

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday launched the construction works of 3.2 km long elevated road from Teynampet to Saidapet on arterial Anna Salai to reduce traffic congestion and waiting time at crucial junctions along the stretch.

The construction of the four lane elevated road at a cost of Rs 621 crore would allow vehicles to cross the congested stretch in three to five minutes.

The elevated road would allow vehicles to pass over the busy junctions of Eldams Road, Cenotaph Road, Nandanam, CIT Nagar and Thodhunter Nagar without waiting for signals.

"The large scale of urbanisation and industrialisation with rapid growth of vehicular population have put severe stress on the urban transport system in the city. The usage of vehicles is increasing at a rapid pace. The major road junctions such as Thodhunter Nagar, CIT Nagar, Nandanam, Cenotaph Road, Eldams Road compound to an average signal delay of 16 mins for a stretch of three Km," the state highways official said.

According to the highways department officials, the peak hour traffic along the stretch is about 18,000 Passenger Car Units (PCU) which has exceeded the existing carrying capacity of 10,000 PCU. "The average daily traffic is observed as 2,37,686 vehicles.

Hence, there is an immediate need to enhance the carrying capacity of the corridor to accommodate the present pattern of traffic growth, " the official said.

With the elevated road to be constructed along the underground stretch of the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd, the foundation of the elevated structure would be built in such a way it would not impact the existing metro structure.

"To ensure safety, the elevated road has been specially designed in consultation with CMRL experts, IIT Madras experts and technical experts from UK and Germany, " the official said.