The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Preliminary works on Oragadam Industrial Corridor Road project begin

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 13, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Preliminary works on Oragadam Industrial Corridor Road project begin

K.Manikandan

It is expected to give a thrust to industrial activity in Oragadam-Sriperumbudur clusters

— Photo: A.Muralitharan

MAKING WAY: Trees felled near Karasangal village along the Vandalur-Wallajahbad Road as part of the Oragadam Industrial Corridor Road project.

TAMBARAM: Preliminary works on the Rs.300-crore Oragadam Industrial Corridor Road project have started.

The project, executed by the Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation and funded through the State Highways Department, is expected to give a thrust to industrial activity in the Oragadam-Sriperumbudur clusters. It will also provide additional connectivity between Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 45) and Grand Western Trunk Road (NH 4 or Bangalore Highway).

Under the project, two roads will be upgraded - State Highway 48 between Vandalur and Wallajahbad and State Highway 57 between Singaperumal Koil and Sriperumbudur. The project has been split into four packages - S.P. Koil to Oragadam; Oragadam to Sriperumbudur; Vandalur to Oragadam and from there to Wallajahbad.

In addition, a grade separator will be built at Oragadam, at the intersection of roads leading to the other four places. A sum of Rs.182 crore has been earmarked for the 24.6-km road between S.P. Koil and Sriperumbudur and 81.74 hectares of land in 28 villages will be acquired for expansion on this stretch. In the first phase, the entire stretch will be converted as a four-lane highway and later, the segment between Oragadam and Sriperumbudur alone would be converted into a six-lane segment considering the phenomenal increase in traffic on this stretch in the past few years, officials of TNRIDC told The Hindu on Saturday.

And Rs.117.8 crore has been allotted for the 33.4-km long stretch between Vandalur and Wallajahbad and 22.6 hectares in 19 villages would be acquired for the purpose. Of the Rs.300 crore, Rs.74 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition, while the rest would be for civil works, including the grade separator at Oragadam, the officials said. There was adequate land for expanding the roads for a width of 21 metres, but they were acquiring additional land keeping in mind the future requirements for strengthening of shoulders and creating space for shifting of utilities. The widening and construction of a grade separator is expected to bring down the travel time between Tambaram and Kancheepuram considerably.

A road over bridge is being built at the cost of Rs.20 crore to replace the railway level crossing near Vandalur Railway Station (LC No. 34) at the intersection of GST Road and the road leading to Wallajahbad via Oragadam. Improving the road between S.P. Koil and Sriperumbudur would provide additional connectivity between GST Road and Bangalore Highway after the Chennai Bypass between Irumbuliyur and Madhuravoyal.

As part of the preliminary works, a large number of fully-grown trees of different varieties are being uprooted by workers employed by the State Highways Department. While the number of these trees coming under the axe is yet to be calculated, the officials, however, said saplings would be planted in the months to come, based on the norms stipulated by the government.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu