ORR: Grid road development in phases.

The Highways Department is developing 216 km of grid roads along Chennai Outer Ring Road (ORR) in a phased manner.

A total of 15 roads that connect ORR to various localities have been identified for widening and strengthening. The development of grid roads is considered vital for the growth of localities alongside such large projects.

Sources in the department said a detailed project report had been submitted to the government to widen the Kodambakkam- Sriperumbudur Road from Mugalivakkam to Sriperumbudur at a cost of Rs. 125 crore. “One portion of the road is already 4-lanes wide. The remaining would be taken up soon under the new service scheme,” an officer explained.

The Tambaram - Mudichur - Sriperumbudur Road that would be taken up for four-laning is at present a single road with deep pits on one side and potholes on the road. Murugan, a cab driver, who takes this road as a short cut to reach Rajiv Gandhi Salai from Sriperumbudur, said that the road witnesses heavy traffic.

“The top layer of the road is worn out and there is no lighting on many stretches. You don’t feel you are near the city. There are only vehicle headlights to guide you and one wrong turn will take you somewhere else,” he said.

The Vandalur- Wallajabad road is being widened by the Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation as part of the Oragadam industrial corridor project.

Links including Thiruneermalai- Somangalam, Red Hills - Vaniyanchathiram, Avadi - Vaniyanchathiram, Nazrethpet - Mangadu Road and Red Hills - Thamaraipakkam are to be taken up under this project. “The detailed project reports for all the roads are ready. Land plan schedule where the types of land and owners of land are identified has been completed. Currently verification of the schedule is on,” explained a source.

THE HINDU