Highways Dept. calls for consultants to prepare DPR on linking OMR, ECR

Residents point to delays in building a link road at Thoraipakkam junction, ask govt. to relay the two-lane road connecting Thiruporur and Nemmeli. (File photo)

In an effort to create a much-needed link between Rajiv Gandhi Salai (also called OMR) and the East Coast Road (ECR), between Sholinganallur and Kovalam, the Highways Department has called for consultants to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposal.

Both roads run parallel until Mamallapuram, and a link would help decongest OMR, the IT Corridor, which sees around two lakh vehicles a day. Since the urban stretch of ECR sees little traffic, a link would help motorists heading from OMR toward the city.

The value of the contract will be ₹14.20 lakh, and the report would have to be completed within three months. The work will include a topographical survey of the proposed location, a detailed report on the alignment, conduct of a classified traffic volume count and an origin and destination survey; preparation of a land plan schedule report; and subsoil investigation, including geotechnical analysis.

Janakiraman, a resident of Thoraipakkam who welcomed yet another connecting road between the two major corridors, was quick to point out that the work to create a link at Thoraipakkam junction was yet to be completed. “Land acquisition issues still dog it. Construction work is going at snail’s pace due to want of land,” he said.

A former Highways Department engineer said a road and a high-level bridge across the Buckingham Canal, connecting Nemmeli and Thiruporur, were completed long ago using Tsunami funds. “That road is a very important connection between the thoroughfares. Land acquisition for widening it from a two-lane facility was stopped halfway. The State government had also sanctioned the requisite amount for the same,“ he said.

Sivaraman, a resident of Thiruporur, said that the surface of the road was damaged and had not been re-laid for a long time. There are bushes all along the road and there is no lighting, making it unfit for driving at night, he added.