To prevent accidents and ensure free flow of traffic

Underscoring that the growth of a State would be judged best by the quality of well-connected roads, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday announced various projects, including the development of three Chennai roads to international standards and extension of East Coast Road (ECR) up to Kanyakumari.

Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly on Wednesday, she also unveiled a project for the construction of 23 railway over-bridges and under-bridges to prevent accidents and to ensure free flow of traffic in nine districts at a cost of Rs. 740 crore.

Pointing out that the increasing traffic had subjected roads in cities and suburban areas to heavy stress, resulting in congestion and accidents, she said in the first phase, Anna Salai, E.V.R. Periyar Salai and Inner Ring roads would be improved to international standards.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said these roads would have pedestrian path, lanes for two-wheelers, small vehicles, heavy vehicles, parking facilities, safety measures, road signs, service pipe lines for various departments, facilities for the differently abled and greeneries.

“A plan will soon be drafted and these roads will be taken up for development,” she added.

Ms Jayalalithaa said the ECR was developed in phases with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank; and now her government had decided to extend it up to Anjugramam in Kanyakumari district to fulfil the long-pending demand of people at a cost of Rs. 257 crore. The extension would entail creation of nine bypass roads, three major bridges and one railway over-bridge.

The Chief Minister said bypass roads would be laid in Sivaganga and Edappadi to decongest the heavy traffic. The 10.60-km bypass road in Sivaganga and the 8.60-km bypass road in Edappadi would cost Rs. 1 crore each.

As for the railway over-bridges and under-bridges in nine districts, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the works would be executed on expenditure-sharing basis.

Under the scheme, four projects would be implemented in Kancheepuram, two projects in Tiruvallur, four projects in Vellore, three projects in Villupuram, four projects in Coimbatore, three works in Salem and one project each in Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Tirunelveli.

She said 65 bridges – 8 new bridges and 57 bridges in the place of old and narrow bridges – would be constructed at a cost of Rs. 151 crore with NABARD assistance to reduce the travelling time and distance.

These bridges would connect places that hitherto did not have direct connectivity.