Chennai, Oct 27:
The Tamil Nadu government has invited tenders to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a proposed new link road connecting Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR) in Chennai’s southern suburbs.
The proposed road will connect Sholinganallur with Kovalam. The Highways Department has invited tenders to appoint an agency to prepare the DPR, which must be completed within three months of the award of the contract.
The initial work will include land surveys, traffic studies, soil testing in Sholinganallur and Kovalam, assessment of groundwater levels, preparation of a land acquisition plan and estimation of project costs.
At present, the Thoraipakkam–Neelankarai road is the main link between OMR and ECR. People travelling from Sholinganallur, Siruseri and Kelambakkam towards Kovalam and Mahabalipuram often have to take a detour of around 12 km.
The proposed link road is expected to reduce travel time to about 10 minutes and significantly ease traffic congestion at the Sholinganallur junction. The project is currently at the DPR preparation stage, and further details will emerge after the study is completed.