Chennai Bypass/IRR/ORR & Road Construction Update

[Rasnaboy]

The road below is wide enough to mark 4 lanes. Think it should take atleast another year or so to complete as the stretch between Madhuravoil and Ambattur is still incomplete (and also the stretch beyond Pattaravakkam railway line).

[Raj_network]

Originally Posted by satsukhoi

It is awesome!.. hoping all big construction projects in chennai city is coming into reality nowadays!.

[gandharva95]

Same picture featured in dinakaran: http://dkn.dinakaran.co.in/showxml.a...291&code=18072

Caption says: சென்னை அடுத்த மதுரவாயலில் இருந்து புழலுக்கு 100 அடி சாலை அமைக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. 13 கி.மீ. நீளமுள்ள இந்த சாலையில், அம்பத்தூர் தொழில் பேட்டை இந்துஸ்தான் போட்டோ பிலிம்ஸ் நிறுவனம் அருகில் இருந்து புழல் வரையில் 3 கி.மீ. தூரத்துக்கு சாலையின் இருபுறமும் மேம்பாலம் அமைக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. இந்த சாலையின் மொத்த மதிப்பீடு ரூ.480 கோடி. 2005 மே மாதம் தொடங்கிய பணி, இன்னும் 6 மாதத்தில் முடிவடையும் எனத் தெரிகிறது. இந்த சாலை சென்னை-பெங்களூர் தேசிய நெடுஞ்சாலையையும், சென்னை-கொல்கத்தா தேசிய நெடுஞ்சாலையையும் இணைக்கும் வகையில் அமைக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. படம்:பிரபு

Translation: A 100 feet-wide highway is being constructed from Maduravoyal (outskirts of Chennai) to Puzhal. A 3-km stretch of this road from near Hindustan Photo Films Corp to Puzhal is being constructed in the form of two elevated carriageways. It seems like this 480 crore-worth project, started in May 2005, will be completed in six months. The road is meant to connect Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Kolkata national highways.

[kpgopal]

Originally Posted by futurebiz1

A long stretch of the elevated bypass passes over the Ambattur Estate 3rd main road.The road below is wide enough but bcoz of the constructions going on it is very very dusty.Although the road below is wide, only a small width
of the road is tarred.It is an interior road and the traffic isn't much.Also one does not have to use this road unless one wants to visit a particular place on this road.

Yes currently this road is very bad. However, this road on the ground level is also part of the scope of work for the bypass and will be maintained by the Highways dept in future. It is going to be a 20 m wide road. The traffic on this road is likely to increase once the elevated road is operational since there is access to the elevated road from this road.

[PlaneMad]

Just curious, was that photo taken from a building? the height seems about 10+floors

[kpgopal]

Originally Posted by PlaneMad

Just curious, was that photo taken from a building? the height seems about 10+floors

The photo must have been taken from the top of the India Land Tech Park which is under construction. ( 13 floors above the ground)

[barrykul]

Chennai city has much more green cover than I thought. Must be the concerted RWH programs to increase the water table level. Some more aggressive planting of trees and shrubs would complete the all round green cover.

Now, if the flat rooftops in many buildings were populated with Solar Panels then the city would become an environmental showcase. Of course we still need to improve infra and cleanliness in public areas. Autos need to be banned and replaced with CNG vehicles (Nano perhaps) and Buses/Cars need to be regulated for pollution. Chennai Metro can take some of the polluting traffic. River cooum needs a complete flush through.

[PlaneMad]

I have added the approximate ORR and bypass road alignments to openstreetmap
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=13...layers=B000FTF

[ramvaradan]

Originally Posted by PlaneMad

I have added the approximate ORR and bypass road alignments to openstreetmap
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=13...layers=B000FTF

PlaneMad,

Cool Stuff. You've always given us interesting maps. Can you pl. educate me/us on who has the golden source for these maps and how they did it ? I guess someone must have superimposed on the sattelite imagerymap (from google/wiki ?) to draw such an accurate schematic map .... Is that right ?

[ramvaradan]

Originally Posted by barrykul

Chennai city has much more green cover than I thought. Must be the concerted RWH programs to increase the water table level. Some more aggressive planting of trees and shrubs would complete the all round green cover.

Now, if the flat rooftops in many buildings were populated with Solar Panels then the city would become an environmental showcase. Of course we still need to improve infra and cleanliness in public areas. Autos need to be banned and replaced with CNG vehicles (Nano perhaps) and Buses/Cars need to be regulated for pollution. Chennai Metro can take some of the polluting traffic. River cooum needs a complete flush through.

Yes, those are my thoughts too .. Solar Panels tehcnology is so under utilized in India, at the most they use for coooking/heating. With the advancement in photo-voltaics, they can save upto 40% of the power bill or even upload to the power grid. And, the geo-thermal cooling is almost unheard of .. Esp. in offices & huge layouts they can save tons of airconditioning load. Govt. should mandate that any IT park/commercial malls must have those installed. The demand will spur the supply and who knows, the large-scale production might make them cheaper too. These are no more future technologies and we better wake up to get ahead of the curve.

We also Hydrogen/Fuel Cell cars.. cleaner & renewable.

I wish some millionaire somewhere in Chennai makes a model house that is perfectly self-sustainable ... and Cars running fuel free !! It would be a costly prototype but its a demonstration of what could be done ... thats tangibly beneficial to comon man

[PlaneMad]

Originally Posted by ramvaradan

PlaneMad,

Cool Stuff. You've always given us interesting maps. Can you pl. educate me/us on who has the golden source for these maps and how they did it ? I guess someone must have superimposed on the sattelite imagerymap (from google/wiki ?) to draw such an accurate schematic map .... Is that right ?

Thanks
Pretty much whatever you see was drawn by me by tracing yahoo satellite imagery. Ive ben doing it with some help from the corporation. Anyone can edit the map and its completely open source.
Im looking for help to complete the map and am planning to organise a workshop soon to help others who are interested in contributing. If everyone mapped their area, we would have a completely free detailed map of the city

[Rasnaboy]

Great PlaneMad! Please let us know when you do that!

[kvijayasundaram]

http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/13/stor...1361000400.htm

Work on the long pending and much needed widening and improvement works on Medavakkam Main Road, an important arterial road in the southern suburbs of Chennai, has commenced and is expected to completed by the end of 2009.

The 9-km-long road (called Mount-Madipakkam Road in official parlance of the State Highways Department) connects St.Thomas Mount railway station with Velachery Main Road at Medavakkam. A phenomenal growth in traffic owing to the mushrooming of several residential localities along the urban and rural local bodies on this stretch had necessitated improvement works on the arterial road.

With some of the densely populated localities of Pallavaram, Alandur and Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam Municipalities and Madipakkam and Medavakkam village panchayats being close to this road, there was pressure from various groups, including citizens’ groups and youth organisations, to carry out improvement works to ease congestion.

The underground drainage project on this road within the limits of Pallavaram Municipality for about two km had reduced this arterial highway into a stretch of potholes, forcing residents and youth organisations to stage demonstrations. During monsoon, travelling on this stretch between Medavakkam and St. Thomas Mount, especially from Keelkattalai to Madipakkam is a nightmare. Even during peak hours now, it takes a precious amount of time to negotiate this stretch.

Several rounds of inspections were carried out and tenders floated but the work never commenced. However, all the hassles were sorted out recently and work on widening the entire stretch of the road was taken up under a scheme of Chennai Metropolitan Development Plan of the State Highways Department.

Officials told The Hindu that a sum of about Rs. 16 crore has been alloted for the project. The existing two-lane (about 7 metres) would be converted as a four-lane highway (about 16 metres) from Medavakkam and St. Thomas Mount Railway Station. To be funded entirely by the State government, the improvement works include construction of permanent raised medians, strengthening of shoulders and provision of stormwater drains.
Encroachments

The department was still surveying the extent of encroachments that had to be cleared and the area of land that needed to be acquired for the project. The sanctioned amount of Rs.16 crore was allotted only for civil (road laying and provision of other utilities) works, officials added.

Another important component of the project was shifting of utilities, including transformers of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, telephone cables and water pipelines. The Highways Department was currently engaged in discussions with the government agencies concerned, officials said. They hoped to complete the entire project in 15 months. Once completed, it would benefit people travelling by government buses and private vehicles and also ease congestion on Grand Southern Trunk Road and Velachery Main Road, the other arterial roads running parallel to this road.

[Tamizhan]

Originally Posted by PlaneMad

I have added the approximate ORR and bypass road alignments to openstreetmap
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=13...layers=B000FTF

I always wondered about the Bypass road allignment when it touches NH5.

When you look in google map, you can clearly see the road work preparations of the Bypass Road from Madhuravoyil upto puthagaram Rd/surappattu Rd.
But beyond that when it gets close to the NH5, especially after Perambur High/Red Hills Rd - there seems to be a lot of residential and/or factory buildings.

I understand that google map is bit older, but I cannot find any other better arial map...

Did you draw this aliignment based on some information from the construction on site?

If not, can someone from that area shed some light on how the allignment goes? - They sure must have demolished those buildings by now and started the ramp connections to NH5 !!!!

[gandharva95]

Originally Posted by Tamizhan

I understand that google map is bit older, but I cannot find any other better arial map...

The aerial shot was taken 1.5 years ago. The latest version of google Earth (you need to download and install the same) shows the date on the status bar, when you zoom in and mouse over the area.

[PlaneMad]

Originally Posted by Tamizhan

I always wondered about the Bypass road allignment when it touches NH5.

When you look in google map, you can clearly see the road work preparations of the Bypass Road from Madhuravoyil upto puthagaram Rd/surappattu Rd.
But beyond that when it gets close to the NH5, especially after Perambur High/Red Hills Rd - there seems to be a lot of residential and/or factory buildings.

I understand that google map is bit older, but I cannot find any other better arial map...

Did you draw this aliignment based on some information from the construction on site?

If not, can someone from that area shed some light on how the allignment goes? - They sure must have demolished those buildings by now and started the ramp connections to NH5 !!!!

These alignments were taken from the cmda masterplan map, so its pretty accurate to +-500m

[gandharva95]

source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...Mode=HTML&GZ=T

Traders oppose acquisition of land in Padi to widen road
Jeeva | TNN

Chennai: Tension is brewing among various residents’ welfare associations and traders’ forums along the Madras-Tirupathi High Road between Padi and Thiruninravur. Reason? The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started to earmarking plots for acquisition of land for expansion of the road. The NHAI has also begun to mark buildings for demolition as part of the project.
The NHAI wants to make it a 200-ft road but most of the traders along the MTH Road have been opposing it saying that there is no need for expanding it beyond 80 feet. Some arterial roads like Anna Salai and Poonamallee High Road themselves are less than 80 feet in width, they say.
On Monday, when traders from several areas, including Padi, Korattur, Ambattur, Thirumullaivoyal, Avadi, Pattabiram and Thiruninravur, resorted to a fast near Ambattur, a large number of representatives of resident welfare associations and residential complexes along the 21-km long stretch of the MTH Road also joined the agitation.
“At present, the width of the road is only about 30 feet and in many places it is just 20 to 25 ft. So expansion of the road is the need of the hour considering the increasing traffic. In fact, no one is opposing the project as such. We only insist that the road can be very well made a four-lane road with 80 ft width just by removing the large number of encroachments on both sides of the road and by acquiring just the minimum land required,’’ said Muthukumar, an office-bearer of a resident welfare association in Avadi.
According to K Mohan, president of the ‘Federation of building owners and traders from Padi to Thiruninravur’, widening the MTH Road to 200 feet will spell doom for more than 20,000 commercial and residential buildings and affect over 50,000 families. More than 60 hospitals, schools and colleges and factories situated along the road will be affected.
“Heavy vehicles proceeding via Maduravoyal and Poonamallee were diverted via Avadi and Ambattur and that has increased traffic congestion on MTH Road. Once the work in progress on the elevated highway between Maduravoyal and Madhavaram is completed, the traffic on MTH Road is expected to ease up. If the authorities think about the future, they can even widen it to 300 feet but can anyone accept it? When they are saying that widening it to 200 feet would minimize accidents, we strongly feel it would only make the road more accident-prone as vehicles would resort to overspeeding. Even crossing the MTH road for pedestrians will be difficult,’’ said Parthasarathy, a shopkeeper in Padi.
Many residents and shopkeepers are agitated and have charged the NHAI with not being transparent and keeping the people in the dark about the project.
NHAI sources said the road would be made six-lane. “We will take over a total of 60-metre width. While 45 metres will be used for the road, the remaining 15 metres will be kept as reserve for future expansion of the road. Those who have right over the land to be acquired will be given the government’s guideline value of the property. Presently we are working on preparing a detailed report to implement the project.’’
jeeva.pugazvendan@timesgroup.com

200 feet for a 6-lane road??? Isn't that too much?

[Rasnaboy]

It's always good to have some extra space keeping in mind the future developments in that region.

[barrykul]

At least 20-30 ft of the road will be clogged with stragglers, parked vehicles, pedestrians, temporary hawkers. So the useful road side will be very less.

BTW, the UPA is contemplating a Bill for land acquisition.
Land Acquisition Bill soon: Sonia

Amid a spate of controversies over land acquistion for industrial projects across the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the UPA government has prepared a bill for acquiring land for setting up industries and hoped it will passed in Parliament soon.

"UPA government has prepared a bill for land acquisition. We hope to pass the Bill in Parliament soon", she told a rally here.

Talking about her party's stand, Gandhi said Congress was not against land acquisition for industrial growth but the farmers whose land is taken should be properly compensated and they should also be made partner in projects on the acquired land.

Gandhi did not name any specific project while talking about the land acquisition issue but was apparently referring to Singur and Dadri where such developments have got mired in controversies.

Some Congress leaders recently courted arrest here to protest against inadequate compensation to farmers in lieu of their land for a power project.

[vijayvmail]

Originally Posted by Rasnaboy

It's always good to have some extra space keeping in mind the future developments in that region.

I'm always so skeptical about leaving some reserve space on the road for future use. In no time, that space will be encroached upon. And a few years down the lane, when its time for expansion, you'll find pucca buildings on this space treating the reserve space as their own and actually further encroaching on the built up road.