Kamal Ghorui
Chennai: The state highways department has initiated the long-pending widening of Sardar Patel Road to a length of 2.5km from Taluk Office Road junction to Madhya Kailash. The works worth 45 crores, which began recently and is going on in full-swing, will be finished by May.The project has gathered pace over the past two weeks, with land acquisition carried out from Anna University to facilitate the expansion of the four-lane stretch into six-lane. In multiple parts next to IIT Madras, Kotturpuram junction and beyond, the highway has already claimed the land, expanded the stretch with sand and is yet to relay the road. The expansion will decongest Kotturpuram junction making it signal-free. The sixth and left-most lane will facilitate a free-left for vehicles from Guindy to Kotturpuram, beneath the IIT Madras flyover, while vehicles from Kotturpuram heading to Guindy will take a left on Sardar Patel Road, and take a U-turn beneath the Madhya Kailash L-flyover, while the vehicles from Adyar and OMR heading straight to Guindy on the Sardar Patel Road will have a thoroughfare and vehicles will have a free-right to Kotturpuram.An official said 100 workers are currently engaged at the site, and that the underground utilities, including EB cables, have already been shifted.D Balaji of Kasturba Nagar residents welfare association in Adyar said a two-way flyover at Madhya Kailash would have further eased traffic. Adyar zonal chairman R Durairaj said congestion has eased on one side, but traffic snarls persist during peak hours as the road remains narrow. “The six-lane road would solve the problem, and enhance motorist safety, reduce accidents, and benefit commuters travelling to the airport, as well as employees and residents who use the stretch regularly,” he said.
