Terminus for buses in Chennai bound for Andhra by March-end.

The under-construction satellite bus terminus in Madhavaram, which will accommodate commuters going to neighboring Andhra and other northern regions, is likely to be ready by the end of next month as more than 80 per cent of work has been completed, a top official said. Built on eight acres of land at a cost of Rs. 95 crore, the project, which had faced feasibility issues and was stalled initially due to heavy truck movement, will provide much-needed relief to commuters going to Andhra, once it is inaugurated, most possibly in the first week of April.

“Travelling from Koyambedu to Madhavaram takes more than 90 minutes and from here to Tirupati, another two hours. With the new terminus being put into operation, it will take only two hours,” says a traffic policeman who returned from the temple in Tirupati recently.The bus terminus, which had its share of controversies, has the main building almost ready. Finishing works are going on, said an official of BNR Infrastructure, which is constructing the project. Apart from it, roads are yet to be laid linking the bus terminus with the approach road passing from Madhavaram truck terminal.

One of the issues affecting the completion of work is the basement, which has been leaking every now and then. An official from the construction firm on the site told Express that since the land was a low-lying area, they have been facing this problem and hope to resolve it soon. However, it is learnt that the leak could be attributed to commencement of the work without taking any precaution in the form of water-proofing measures.

The cost of constructing the bus terminus was worked out at Rs 32 crore in 2011, but the cost has gone up three times. “Overall, there will be 50 parking lots for buses as well as 40 idle parking lots. Going by the cost, it would mean each parking lot will cost nearly Rs 1 crore,” said sources.

Initially, the first feasibility report for the project was unfavourable as it stated that the bus terminus would lead to congestion of the inner ring road. And this will be one of the biggest challenges the new bus terminus will face. The busy inner ring road has been bustling with heavy vehicle traffic on the Madhavaram Road and with both bus terminus and a truck terminal at the same site, it is likely to congest roads. While entry-exit points have been identified, the approach road will pass through the truck terminal. Interestingly, no work has been started to widen the road. “We will be taking up the work soon,” said the officials at the site.

Project timeline
The project was announced in the assembly in 2011
The project was shelved as feasibility report said that the project on eight acres of land was not feasible as there would be lot of truck movement, which could result in congestion
The bus terminus project was revived in 2016 and a feasibility report was prepared again
Planning permission for the project was sought by the CMDA on November 2016
The cost of the project escalated to `80 crore
Questions raised over the proposed plan
The project was awarded to BNR Infrastructure at a cost of `94 crore last year
CMDA seeks exemption of OSR land for truck terminal to shift heavy vehicle parking yard of truck terminal to make it accessible to buses entering the bus terminus
80 pc of work has been completed but basement floor is leaking
Project likely to be completed by March and believed to be inaugurated in the first week of April.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS