The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has granted sanction for shifting of utlities on a 13 km-long stretch of the NH45 Chennai-Tiruchy Highway, from Guduvanchery to Mahindra City.
This is the first step towards the widening of the four-lane road into an eight-lane facility.
The State’s NH wing will carry out the work on the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road, said sources in the NHAI.
“These include transplantation of trees and planting of new saplings and will cost ₹21.37 crore, which has been sanctioned. The total cost of the widening project will be ₹230 crore and the project will be carried out in three phases,” said an official source.
The widening will help reduce accidents on the road, which many pedestrians use throughout the day.
“Both sides have thick urbanisation, which has also caused local traffic to take the highway. Widening will pave the way for some kind of segregation of vehicles on the busy road,” said another official.
T.R. Srivatsan, who runs a coffee outlet near Maduranthakam, said though the distance is only a few kilometers, it takes a long time to cross it.
“In the mornings, traffic pile-ups happen between 7.30 a.m. and 10 a.m. In the evenings, it begins by 4 p.m. and goes on till 8 p.m.,” he said.