IT Corridor Road project

[PlaneMad]

Heres an overlay of the kathipara cloverleaf on a sat image. one major problem of a cloverleaf here is that the gst road from airport to guindy will actually be a loop through the top left cloverleaf. There is going to be some serious congestion problems on the entry of the loop given that there is no lane discipline. And how wide is the loop going to be two or three lanes.
What bugs me is that they have tried to squeeze the interchange into a small with a tight loop. Might as well clear more land and have a smooth cloverleaf.

[Anniyan]

Originally Posted by satish

I don't think Kathipara will be completed by April. Pace has drastically reduced. Almost stopped last couple of months. I think one of the reason was the delay is acquiring land that is diagonally opp. Le Meridian. Because of this, there was less width to begin construction of elevated lanes for traffic from airport to IRR. This has been acquired a few months ago and is being demolished. Contractors believed it is better to ensure less traffic disruption than speeden up the works. Construction should pick up pace after monsoon.

todays news....

Union Shipping and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu reviewed the ongoing special projects in Chennai and urged the contractors involved to maintain project deadlines. He cautioned against any delay in completing the Kathipara flyover by April 14, 2007, but was satisfied with the progress of work on Padi intersection, as work there should be completed by August 2007, an official release said.

The RT&H and NHAI officials had been instructed to take up the issue of transfer of defence land for the Chennai airport project. The delay in completing the four-laning of Maduravoyal to Ambedkar statue section and the Koyambedu flyover was because of land acquisition problems, he added.

Contractors had been urged to expedite the production of pre-cast girders to be used on the elevated corridor in Ambattur industrial area.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/19/stor...1917860400.htm

[kannan infratech]

Referring to Planemad's observation:
The loop which will be used by vehicles coming from airport side to Guindy side looks very small and the turn seems to be a tight one. Even in Gemini flyover, I have noticed trucks crashing into the side walls in the GN Chetty Road / NH road loop. I think that they may have to acquire a little more land and widen the loop.

As per the traffic study which we did almost 15 months back, the bulk of the traffic will be on Airport- Guindy and Airport - Vadapalani. But with the present levels of developments happening in Bangalore Highway and Mount Poonamallee Road, this arm also needs equal attention. The turning in Mt Poonamalle Road near the St Thomas Mount (where we enter the church zone) - Butt Road Junction is a traffic nightmare. Unless this junction is tackled, the cloverleaf flyover will not serve its entire purpose.

[Sridhar]

A bigger problem than the merging vehicles at the entrace of the loop into Mount Road is the fact that just before this loop, there will be vehicles from Mount Road merging towards the IRR.

An alternative design, that could have potentially solved both these issues was to have an additional viaduct (high above the rest of the interchange), that connected Airport Road to Mount Road. That would still be possible in the future, without too much land acquisition.

[DD Chennai]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...2000472300.htm

[PlaneMad]

Sridhar, you are right, that never struck me. The situation is going to get very bad on that part once it opens, they wil probably end up closing that loop for traffic. Maybe someone should get a word to Mr Baalu and halt construction before they realize their folly?
Kannan, regarding butt road, looks like they have split the cariageways into two and merge it at the highway junction, so it should be two lanes each way at least and maybe three if they can demolish a few boundary walls, the only problem is the road is going to have a series of 90degree sharp turns.
Btw are there any plans to 6 lane Mt-Pml highway?

[kannan infratech]

Regarding Butt Road, we suggested broadening Butt Road (presently narrow) and diverting vehicles coming from airport to mt Poonamallee Road via this. Otherwise an elevated road can be planned from GST Road to Nandambakkam Trade centre. Vehicles coming from Guindy side can be routed to this elevated road by a loop (90 degrees right turn). This can be made one way. The vehicle coming from Poonamallee / Porur side can take the present road and the clover leaf fly over. The present plan is to use the parellel road connecting Mt Poonamallee Road and the 100 ft (Kathipara Vadapalani IRR) and take the loop from there

[Anniyan]

[IMG]http://i14.************/2i0go60.jpg[/IMG]

SPLASH OF COLOUR The newly-painted barricade

Two years ago, the Buckingham Canal acted as a shield and prevented the advance of the tsunami. The media projected the canal as a superhero. But even superheroes can't rest on their laurels. Now, the IT Express Highway from Kasturba Nagar to Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station (barring the structures housing the stations) has been barricaded from the canal. The Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) has erected these metal sheets, because the "IT Express Highway has been built to a world-class configuration and the Buckingham Canal is characterised by the growth of unruly shrubs and creepers and the purification of the canal is yet to begin." In other words, the canal seems to detract from the highway's appealing appearance.

The barricade has acquired aesthetic value, thanks to the TNRDC which has taken steps to paint it with colourful images. "Under the guidance of city-based artist Asma Menon, 20 young artists painted these images," says K. Malmarugan, vice-president, TNRDC.

The paintings in vibrant colours are inspired by Nature. Intended to have a soothing effect on commuters, they enhance the beauty of the IT corridor.

However, the paintings and the barricade will stay till the Government embarks on a permanent beautification process. This effort is expected to treat the water, landscape the banks of the canal and paint murals on the pillars that are part of the MRTS structure.

[Subra]

CHENNAI: With the number of companies setting their base at the IT Corridor increasing day-by-day, a couple of IT companies already established there got together to form a Special IT forum, to identify issues and suggest corrective measures.

At their first meeting at the premises of Aspire Systems, the Special IT forum, consisting of representatives from Aspire, Wipro, TCS, US Technologies, Xansa, Patni, Scope and Hexaware among others, drew-up action points to tackle safety and security measures on Old Mahabalipuram Road – the city’s IT corridor.

Talking to Cyber Media News, Subburathinam, infrastructure and administration manager, Aspire Systems, said: “Adequate police patrol services and fire fighting facilities are some of the important requirements. The forum members are committed to taking such issues to the authorities and getting things done quickly.”

The forum has decided to put forward its proposal to the authority concerned, the Collector of Kancheepuram District, under whose jurisdiction the IT corridor falls.

“An official request will be made by the IT delegation to involve State representatives to work hand in hand to improve the existing conditions on OMR. The state representatives include Senior Police Officials, Senior Officials from TNEB (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board), Highways and Panchayat Officials,” he said further.

According to the members, the reasons behind the traffic snarls include heavy vehicles being allowed on OMR during peak hour traffic in the morning & evening, and buses returning empty to their shed or parking place after dropping staff at various offices.

Letika Saran, Commissioner of Police for Greater Chennai region told Cyber Media News that the companies have to take the initiative in protecting the employees against any kind of problems, especially when it comes to women employees.

“The police patrols posted in the area are doing their job, but since the area to be covered is large as compared to the less number of patrols available, it would not be practically possible to monitor extensively,” she said.

The Forum has also decided to call for a separate meeting with TNRDC (Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Ltd) for an update on the six-lane construction project.

According to informed sources, the initiative to form a forum had been taken due to the pace of development in the IT corridor and also in the wake of a women employee being harassed by a couple of auto rickshaw drivers a couple of days back, and not preferring a complaint with the police.

http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2006/106102701.asp

[Sathisht77]

What is the latest status of the expressway? Did they officially open the 3 kms strech? Or has rain washed away any hope of seeing the expressway in the near future
Any latest photos will be appreciated

[MaduraiSelvam]

Originally Posted by Sathisht77

What is the latest status of the expressway? Did they officially open the 3 kms strech? Or has rain washed away any hope of seeing the expressway in the near future
Any latest photos will be appreciated

Got no photos, except a News piece...

IT Expressway work schedule hit by rain

Staff Reporter

20-km stretch from Madhya Kailash junction towards Siruseri to be ready by June 2007

CHENNAI : Chennai may have to wait a little longer for the completion of the first phase of the IT Expressway. Highways Minister M.P. Saminathan on Wednesday said the 20-kilometre stretch from the Madhya Kailash temple junction towards Siruseri would be ready by June 2007.
Though the first 3-kilometre stretch of the corridor (Madhya Kailash temple junction up to Velachery Road junction) was almost ready, the Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation (TNRDC) could not have it formally commissioned by the end of October as planned. The completion of work was delayed by the rains that drenched the city recently. "The main carriageway is over. We require another month to complete the service lane and finish the stretch," Rohit Modi, Chief Executive Officer, TNRDC, told The Hindu . He said they avoided hurrying up during the rains as the soil was loose and the quality would suffer.
The minister said an announcement on the commencement of phase two could be expected soon as the authorities were in the process of land acquisition.
He said two bridges would be built on the 2.2-km stretch between Sholinganallur and Kudumiandithope. "This was already proposed as part of phase one of the IT Expressway. We now plan to widen that stretch and build two big bridges," he added.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/02/stor...0214380300.htm

[PlaneMad]

a few pics i shot the day before:

the turn at tidel park towards ecr


mrts towards velachery


under the crossing


superstructure indeed


view from the train

[arijeetb]

[QUOTE=PlaneMad;10361058]a few pics i shot the day before:

Looks like only the stretch till Tidel park ( 2km) seems sort of complete though one of the reports mentioned opening up of 3.1 km by end of october....unfortunately also the weather has not been in favor of the opening of the stretch

[ferrari_fan]

nice pics planemad!! thanks..

@ arijeet : unfortunately we're already into november, and not even the 2kms upto Tidel Park is done - the service lanes and sidewalks are incomplete, and there's a lot of work going on for cosmetic features like a couple of sculptures and fountains and the signboards etc..

going by the time taken to complete these 3kms alone, it seems to me that the rest is definitely not going to finish by the latest deadline of May '07..

the entire workforce of this project are currently concentrating on this initial stretch, and even after nearly 4 months of work, even this portion is going to need another month's work at the very least..

it doesn't look good..

on the positive side, the road seems to deliver all that it promised, and it really does make for a great drive..

[WillyWick]

the road looks good , but i doubt if it the entire stretch madya kailash to seruseri would be completed by the end of the decade.

I would also like to wait for a couple of monsoon seansons to see how the road holds.

[PlaneMad]

Velachery mrts station and what looks like a depot on the left.


The road surface of the IT corridor is pretty good, i dont think the rain is going to affect it. But whats bugging me so much is the time they are taking to build this road, whats so special about it. When any road in any international city is as good or better than the ITE, why is it so difficult for us to build just one of this kind of road.

[ferrari_fan]

very true.. it's a really good road, but the time they're taking over it is simply ridiculous.. i'm very impressed with the job they've done to build a high quality road like this, but the delays are so great that a great deal of appreciation disappears.. that's how India works unfortunately..

by the time it finally gets completed i guess the traffic volume will be so high that they'll have to look at an elevated expy over this one, just like the B'lore-Hosur toll road.. which will take another 5 years to complete, then they'll take up a metro which will again take 5-odd years to build..

so i guess it'll take 15-20 years time for ITE and its environs to transform into a world-class commercial + residential belt..

edit : nice pic of velachery station btw..

now that's another sad story of never-ending waits for completion - god only knows when the mrts will start running upto velachery..

[arijeetb]

Originally Posted by ferrari_fan

very true.. it's a really good road, but the time they're taking over it is simply ridiculous.. i'm very impressed with the job they've done to build a high quality road like this, but the delays are so great that a great deal of appreciation disappears.. that's how India works unfortunately..

by the time it finally gets completed i guess the traffic volume will be so high that they'll have to look at an elevated expy over this one, just like the B'lore-Hosur toll road.. which will take another 5 years to complete, then they'll take up a metro which will again take 5-odd years to build..

so i guess it'll take 15-20 years time for ITE and its environs to transform into a world-class commercial + residential belt..

edit : nice pic of velachery station btw..

now that's another sad story of never-ending waits for completion - god only knows when the mrts will start running upto velachery..

Yes - it will take time for the stretch to develop - maybe atleast 5 years if the economy grows rapidly

Chennai's road infrastructure ( especially city roads) needs to be upgraded and fast - seriously dont think chennai has better roads than bangalore and here the people hardly complain or spk to the govt unlike Bangalore where the industry chieftains are more vocal in voicing out the concerns..Chennai might simply lose out

[ferrari_fan]

i agree that B'lore's intra-city roads seem better than chennai's, but that might be because of the extensive one-way systems they have in place..

as a result, almost every major road within B'lore city is 3 or 4-lanes wide, but only in a single direction, and so traffic management is significantly better..

one-way systems desperately need to be introduced on many arterial Chennai roads that are a total of 4-lanes wide, or less.. some of these could be Nungambakkam high road, Cenotaph road (which they one-way-ed for a while then reverted), all roads in George Town, Lattice Bridge road etc., all have extremely high traffic and huge jams at peak hours..

actual widening of roads in the heart of the city will need a huge amount of demolition, and i doubt if that'll ever happen..

[satish]

Originally Posted by arijeetb

Yes - it will take time for the stretch to develop - maybe atleast 5 years if the economy grows rapidly

Chennai's road infrastructure ( especially city roads) needs to be upgraded and fast - seriously dont think chennai has better roads than bangalore and here the people hardly complain or spk to the govt unlike Bangalore where the industry chieftains are more vocal in voicing out the concerns..Chennai might simply lose out

I don't agree with that. I think folks in Chennai care about the city more than Bangalore. And I think this is because recent migrants are much lesser in Chennai than Bangalore essentially because of large number of young IT employees in Bangalore who just don't care. Just because TOI Bangalore editions keeps bashing the city, it doesn't mean citizens care any more.

And Bangalore traffic is bad. Hosur rd jn to Electronics city used to be 15 min drive in 2000. It takes atleast an hour now on a regular day. Inside the city, it is no better because Bangalore was not designed for this. Most roads are of uniform 4 lane width but there is just no one arterial road that carries bulk of the traffic. So, they have too many road intersections and are unable to focus on a few roads to alleviate the traffic. They build one flyover and the bottleneck just shifts to next intersection and it hardly reduces the overall commute time. Bangalore has serious infrastructure issues and will take a long time to solve them.