The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday has commenced work to reconstruct existing narrow storm water drains along service lane of Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) towards Vellore to provide more road space for motorists to reach key places in the town like Old Town and Katpadi.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday has commenced work to reconstruct existing narrow storm water drains along service lane of Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) towards Vellore to provide more road space for motorists to reach key places in the town like Old Town and Katpadi.
NHAI’s efforts come in the wake of traffic changes made around Green Circle below the elevated highway by district police led by SP N. Mathivanan on Monday. As per new traffic changes, all vehicles that proceed towards places like Pallikonda, Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur on the highway should proceed on Old Bangalore Road till National theatre circle and take right to join on the highway through the service lane. “The old storm water drain has been demolished. The new drain will be built on par with existing road level to provide more carriageway space for motorists. The drain will also be stronger to allow free flow of traffic on the route,” said a NHAI official.
At present, the narrow service lane towards Vellore is unable to accommodate more vehicles. Also, the existing drain on the lane is located at least one foot higher than the road level. It restricts motorists from using open space available on the stretch. As a result, vehicles have to wait for at least 30 minutes to navigate the stretch.
Among heavy vehicles, currently only town buses including private operators are allowed to use service lanes, mainly to allow local commuters to board buses safely. Private company vehicles, government buses, lorries, trucks and tractors are not allowed to use the stretch. “More road space on the service lane will help to ease traffic congestion around Green Circle junction. Space for pedestrians on the stretch should also be provided,” said S. Ramesh, a motorist.
As per plan, the existing storm water drain, which is three feet wide and four feet deep, has been razed. New drain will be built on the widened stretch, providing more road space for motorists.
Also, the existing width of the carriageway, which is six metres, will be doubled. Water channels and culverts along the route will also be cleaned to allow excess rainwater to get discharged into nearby Palar river during monsoon and prevent inundation on widened stretch. Tangedco poles and electric lines will be relocated to provide more road space.
NHAI officials said that encroachments, mostly petty shops, were demolished between Green Circle and Collectorate office, a distance of 1.2 kms, to provide more road space on the service lane. The entire work will be completed in two months.
Published – February 05, 2025 12:23 am IST