Chennai: Ten days after Madras high court vacated an interim stay against finalising the tender for the 2,100-crore East Coast Road (ECR) elevated corridor project, chief minister M K Stalin, on Thursday, laid the foundation stone for the initiative. The court had earlier granted an interim stay after the L2 contractor approached it, alleging that his technical qualifications were overlooked and that the L1 bidder was chosen unfairly. The project, to be implemented by Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority (TANSHA), will be developed for a length of about 13.30km between Thiruvanmiyur and Uthandi. It will be executed under the public–private partnership (PPP) mode through the hybrid annuity model (HAM). “This means, it will be an end-to-end toll corridor, and the contractor will spend entirely for the project, and retrieve the cost through toll later,” the official said.The four-lane elevated corridor was designed with a width of 17.25m and a vertical clearance of 5.5m to facilitate two-way traffic movement. “It will begin ahead of the ECR-Lattice Bridge Road junction in Thiruvanmiyur and terminate at Uthandi,” said a state highways department official.Entry and exit ramps will be provided at key locations, including the Thiruvanmiyur regional transport office, Neelankarai and Akkarai, to decongest traffic along the stretch. Major junctions such as Akkarai, Neelankarai and Lattice Bridge Road will also be upgraded, while select stretches of the existing road will be widened into six lanes.Rainwater harvesting systems will be installed between the piers, and continuous LED lighting will be provided along the entire elevated stretch. The project will include modern road infrastructure such as lane markings, signage, reflective and solar-powered studs, noise barriers and crash barriers.The highways department is coordinating with traffic police to facilitate smoother traffic flow on the ECR to prevent snarls while the project is underway.
