No, ECR widening won't finish on time. This is why
The National Highways Authority of India has taken up four-laning of ECR from Mamallapuram to Kanniyakumari under various packages.
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CHENNAI: The delay in land acquisition and its handover to the NHAI, and poor mobilisation of resources by the contractor were the reasons for the slow progress of East Coast Road (ECR) widening into four-lane works, said Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari.
The National Highways Authority of India has taken up four-laning of ECR from Mamallapuram to Kanniyakumari under various packages. The State Highways Department has undertaken six-laning of the 10.3 km Tiruvanmiyur to Akkarai stretch of the road where it plans to construct an elevated road, while the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company has completed four-laning of the Akkarai to Mamallapuram stretch.
Responding to Krishnagiri MP K Gopinath's query, Gadkari said that the work on the Rs 1,360-crore four-laning of Mamallapuram to Mugaiyur section, which began on May 2022, has achieved a mere 33 per cent physical work progress. The work is expected to be completed in August 2025.The Mugaiyur-Marakkanam section four-laning work that commenced in December 2023 has achieved 17 per cent progress. The Rs 1,116-crore four-laning will be completed in December 2025.
The NHAI floated bids for four-laning of Marakkanam to Puducherry under two packages, including the formation of a by-pass from Koonimedu to Puducherry-Villupuram road. The widening of Puducherry-Nagapattinam section is expected to be completed by September 2025. The 38-km Puducherry - Poondiyankuppam section widening has achieved a physical progress of 91 per cent while the 56.80-km Poondiyankuppam-Sattanathapuram section has achieved 98 per cent progress. Both section works are targeted to be completed by September next year. The 55.76-km Sattanathapuram-Nagapattinam section works will be completed by August 2025.
Meanwhile, the NHAI has taken up preparation of DPR for the widening of the 312.36-km stretch from Nagapattinam to Thoothukudi via Ramanathapuram. The Thoothukudi-Kanniyakumari stretch would be widened by the NH wing of the State Highway Department for which it has commenced land acquisition and preparing DPR.