The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Widening of AMM Road proposed

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Tuesday, Feb 24, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Widening of AMM Road proposed

K.Lakshmi

A survey on the traffic intensity will be conducted as a first step

— Photo: K.Pichumani

Waiting for facelift: AMM Road that connects Ambattur with Kolathur and Madhavaram is proposed to be developed into a two-lane facility.

CHENNAI: With more and more motorists using the AMM Road, which is better known as Cuddapah Road, a key facility connecting Ambattur, Kolathur and Madhavaram, the demand for upgrading it is gaining prominence.

According to many motorists, they use the oad despite the umpteen potholes and the narrow stretches as it served as an alternative to the arterial roads where traffic pile-ups are a daily ordeal.

The mushrooming of several houses and educational institutions in the areas along the road such as Kolathur and Madhanangkuppam has meant an increase in the number of vehicles and road-users, residents said.

Several motorists from north Chennai bound for Ambattur and Avadi have begun to use the road to escape the traffic chaos on Inner Ring Road and Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road.

R. Sekar, a resident of Pudur, Ambattur, said “I find it convenient to take the AMM Road via Madhanangkuppam to reach Vyasarpadi. It saves about 20 minutes travel time.”

While a portion of the road maintained by the State Highways Department is known as AMM Road, the stretch that falls under the jurisdiction of Puzhal Panchayat Union and Madhavaram Municipality is called Cuddapah Road.

S.Jyothi of Puthagaram said the bad condition of the road, however, also forced many residents to use the Inner Ring Road that runs across Padi, particularly after rains. This meant a detour of 13 kms to reach Ambattur. The AMM road is vital as it reduces the distance to five kms.

Plying on the road becomes an arduous task during night hours in the absence of streetlights on most of the stretches, she said.

Highways department officials said a proposal to widen the Ambattur- Madhanangkuppam-Mettupalayam (AMM) Road into a two-lane facility was under consideration.

A survey on the traffic intensity on the road would be conducted as a first step to expand it in to a 40 feet wide road. However, only 2.2 km of the nearly seven-km-long road was under the control of the Highways Department. The local bodies of Madhavaram and Puzhal must also improve stretches under their jurisdiction, its official said.

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