Sections of East Coast Road from Akkarai to Mamallapuram to be relaid by TNRDC

Aimed at providing a smoother ride to motorists taking East Coast Road (ECR), between Akkarai and Mamallapuram, the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) will soon take up surface renewal on three stretches.

A total of 3 km will be relaid from Akkarai to Uthandi, 5.3 km from Kanathur to Kovalam and 4.7 km from Kovalam to Mamallapuram. “Though it is only 30 km long, if you take both sides that is the left hand side and right hand side, it comes to 60 km. Of this, we are taking up 13 km for renewal in this phase,” explained an official source.

The work has been awarded, and the contractor is expected to commence the work shortly. It will be completed in a month from that time. “These sections require renewal as they have withstood traffic for over five years. If they are not relaid, they will get damaged and develop cracks or potholes. We want to prevent that and want the road to continue to provide a smooth riding surface to motorists. The road surfaces are usually renewed once in five years. We will ensure that the road is cold-milled, where the surface is scrapped off before re-laying,” the source said.

The ECR is popular among people travelling to Mamallapuram and Puducherry. “The quality of the road should not be compromised in any way. It should be maintained as it is. After the work to relay the top is completed, road markings, reflective stickers, cats eye buttons and signages should be re-installed carefully,” said K. Parthasarathy, a biking enthusiast.

On the possibility of widening the road to six lanes, another official said that the present volume of traffic does not require such width. “Perhaps when the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road and the proposed road from Karunguzhi, both connecting Poonjeri, are completed, the traffic will increase. We may widen it in 3 to 4 years,” he added.

Vijayakumar, whose office is located on ECR, said that it would be helpful if the toll plaza at Uthandi was moved further. “A lot of local residents end up paying toll to use the road, which is unnecessary. The plaza is actually located inside the limits of the Greater Chennai Corporation, and as a rule, toll plazas are not supposed to be located inside city limits. Toll plazas on OMR were removed citing this rule,” he said.