NHAI mulls flyover on GST Rd to ease Kilambakkam jam

CHENNAI: With the opening of the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam resulting in severe jams, the National Highways Authority of India is studying the possibility of constructing a flyover on GST Road - Iyyencherry Road junction.

Despite widening GST Road into an eight-lane thoroughfare and the construction of a flyover at Vandalur junction, vehicular movement has slowed down after the terminus was opened.

“In a recent meeting with the State officials, it was decided to consider the construction of a flyover to ease congestion even though the elevated corridor from Perungalathur to Chengalpattu is to come up soon,” NHAI sources said.

While the officials here wanted the flyover to be built on a priority basis, NHAI cited challenges like undertaking construction amid live traffic. “We have to carry out multiple studies to take up the work. It will take some time,” sources said.

The State Transport Corporations and omnibuses operate 1,700-1,800 services from the terminus on weekdays and more than 2,000 services during weekends. Besides them, MTC operates about 1,700 services from KCBT, while as many as 2,386 services pass via the new terminus.

Mofussil and omnibuses take a U-turn beneath the Vandalur flyover to enter KCBT, and MTC buses leaving the terminus take a U-turn at the GST Road - Iyyencherry Road junction. Given the number of buses taking U-turns at the two junctions, traffic pileup has become common on the arterial road during peak hours. 

The 6-lane elevated corridor from Tambaram to Chengalpattu on the Grand Southern Trunk Road proposed for Rs 3,500 crore is likely to be delayed, as the State government is yet to decide on the GST waiver sought by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway for the elevated road projects in the State.

Sources privy to the development said that the NHAI has already taken up the work on the double-tier elevated corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal at Rs 5,510 crore. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the project and work has begun,” the official said.

The NHAI sources said that though the Tambaram-Chengalpattu project was in the order of priority, it was stuck in high-level discussions. They stated that Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari wrote to Chief Minister Stalin last year seeking to know the State government’s decision on waiving the State component of the GST for such projects in the State.

The NHAI has proposed to take up 4 elevated corridors — Maduravoyal to Sriperumbudur (23.2 km) on Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, 10.4 km Madhavaram junction to Outer Ring road on the Chennai-Kolkata highway, and Tambaram to Chengalpattu (27 km) of the Grand Southern Trunk Road and 14 km Tiruchy-Thuvakudi stretch of Tiruchy-Thanjavur highway. Officials in the State Highways department pointed out that the State government had already waived the royalty it collects on minerals like gravel, and the aggregate could be used in the construction at the NHAI’s request.

“How will the State government waive the GST for the elevated projects? The NHAI is anyway collecting the toll to recover the project cost,” the official added.

The project, which would start at Perungalathur and end beyond Paranur toll plaza, is expected to ease traffic chaos along the busy stretch.

According to the NHAI officials, the detailed project report (DPR) for the 94 km Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch of the Grand Southern Trunk Road has been completed.

To be built at Rs 3,523 crore, the elevated corridor between Tambaram and Chengalpattu will have entry and exit ramps at Kilambakkam bus terminus, Potheri near SRM College and Mahindra World City. According to the DPR, this runs for 25.29 km, including 5.05 km at the second level over the existing grade separators and flyovers.