9/11/2014 World standard Link Road next year - The New Indian Express

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By Shyam Balasubramanian - CHENNAI Published: 15th November 2012 10:15 AM
Last Updated: 15th November 2012 10:15 AM
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World standard Link Road next year
The state of the Velachery-Taramani Link Road stretch has given little cheer to motorists for a
number of years. Various government departments have been unable to either start or finish their
work on the stretch to gave a remote sense of respectability to the road and make it motorable.
But now, the pressure from high up in the government seems to be finally working to bring
progress on the stretch to a healthy pace. Sources say the deadline for the completion of the road
to world standards has been set for August 2013.
The Velachery-Taramani Link Road has long been a troubled project. Road laying works have
been on hold for a number of years, with the Highways Departments Metro Wing waiting for the
Public Works Department to finish laying a canal to connect the Velachery Lake and the
Buckingham Canal. The canal has been aimed at helping reduce flooding in the low-lying areas on
the periphery of the Pallikaranai marsh.
The canal building work, say highly-placed sources, has been delayed largely because of the
original contractor, who won the contract by quoting a low amount for the project. Because of the
low rates, the contractor doesnt seem interested in doing the work. We have seen a string of
excuses of one type or the other. With pressure and support from the highest level, we have now
changed the scope of the work and new rates have been fixed, said an official.
The latest gamble has been to change the construction technique used on the project. So far, 900
metres of the 3650 metre-canal has been laid using in-situ casting. This means the concrete
blocks that form the walls of the canals are laid and cured along the canals planned course. But
now, thanks to pressure from the top, the construction is set to rely on pre-cast blocks that would
only be assembled at the location.

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Around 160 1-meter segments are being pre-cast at a facility near the Ambattur Lake. These
segments would then be transported to the site where they would be assembled along the canals
alignment. This is expected to be a sure-shot way of speeding up the work said an informed
source.
Both the road projects and the canal have seen a certain amount of action after a team of high-
level officials from the Housing, Highways and Public Works Departments inspected the site in the
first week of November. A highly placed official is said to have taken PWD officials to task for the
delays.
There is direct pressure from the Housing Secretary, Highways Secretary and other very highly
placed officials. It is this pressure that is getting things moving, said a source. This has meant the
coming together of the three stakeholders of the projects the PWD and Highways Department,
which are implementing the projects, and the Housing and Urban Development Department, which
is funnelling World Bank funding for the project.
Officials in the Highways Department told City Express that they were all set to take up the work in
a phased manner, as was the initial plan. We have completed work on a 650-meter stretch that
was handed over to us. Another 250-meter stretch has been handed over, but we have been
unable to start work because construction materials and shelters have been left behind. We will
need no more than three months to complete a stretch of about 500 metres, said a Highways
official.
The officials also added that the Highways Department has asked PWD to complete work on the
stretch close to the bustling SRP Tools Junction so that necessary traffic diversions can be made
for the Highways Department to take up its work. With the pre-cast technique being employed now
on the canal, there is no reason why road users cannot have a smooth drive down the Velachery-
Taramani Link Road by August 2013, the official added.
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