The 10-km stretch from Madhavaram to Nallur of Chennai-Tada National Highway will be relaid soon. Tenders are to be called in January for the work, estimated to cost ₹38 crore, which will take six months to complete.
Official sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said in addition to relaying the four-lane road, storm-water drains would be constructed for the 9 km and 1.7 km service lanes. “This stretch was last relaid in 2018-19 and is due for a fresh top layer since the road has exceeded capacity and carries over 1 lakh passenger cars a day,” a source said.
Residents of Janapanchathram, which is just beyond Nallur, have been asking for the repairing and relaying of the service lanes and main carriageway in their area. “From Periyapalayam junction, the damage is quite heavy for up to 1 km at least. There are potholes, and this is a national highway and deserves a certain level of upkeep,” said K. Natarajan, a resident.
Suresh, who uses the road regularly, said traffic jams occurred at least once a week. “When travelling from the Tada side to Madhavaram, vehicles pile up for about a kilometre in the evenings. It takes over 20 minutes to pass the stretch. Similarly, the road from Puzhal to Madhavaram needs to be widened. A lot of heavy vehicles use it, and the ones heading to the Red Hills rice market, Ennore, and Tada take up most of the space. Many roads, such as East Coast Road, are getting widened, but this stretch remains narrow. There was a proposal for an elevated corridor but nothing has come of it so far,” he said.
