The Hindu 11.11.2009
City road plan to be prepared
S.Ganesan
| TURIP works to obviate need for upgrade during the next two decades |
—Photo:M_Moorthy 
AMBITIOUS PLAN: Mayor S.Sujatha, Corporation Commissioner T.T.Balsamy and other officials at a consultative meeting with a technical committee on the implementation of the TN Urban Road Infrastructure Project in Tiruchi on Tuesday.
TIRUCHI: A city road plan, which would form the basis for planning the works to be taken up under the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Project (TURIP), will be prepared within the next two months, according to R.Gayathri, Assistant Vice President, Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL).
Tiruchi is one of the 11 cities and towns identified in the State where the project will be implemented in the first phase. Making a presentation on TURIP at a consultative meeting with the Tiruchi Corporation officials and elected representatives here on Tuesday, Ms.Gayathri said the works would be identified after a scientific study of the requirements. The database of the existing infrastructure would be mapped. A geographical information system (GIS)-based study would be carried out to assess the existing road infrastructure of the city and the upgrade required.
A technical committee, led by Ms.Gayathri, held consultations on the implementation of the project with Mayor S.Sujatha, Corporation Commissioner T.T.Balsamy, and zonal chairpersons and senior engineers of the Corporation. The team included S.Srinivasan, Advisor (Roads), TNUIFSL, Jitendra Kumar, Director, DHV India Ltd., the consultant for the project in Tiruchi, and engineers and experts from various fields.
The project would take into account the growth factor in various parts of the city and have appropriate provisions to the meet the requirements. Roads and other infrastructure to be developed under the scheme would be of international standards to obviate the need for upgrade for the next 20 years.
The objective was to develop sustainable road infrastructure with storm water drains, underground ducts for cables, barrier-free footpaths, medians, lane marking, road signs and street lights. Emphasis would also be on environmental protection and green cover would be provided wherever possible.
“The intention was to avert the need to cut or repair the roads for the next 20 years. This is the first time that such a comprehensive road development project was being taken up in the country,” she observed. The Government was committed to execute the project that is spearheaded by Deputy Chief Minister M.K.Stalin.
The design consultants would also be responsible for monitoring the execution of the project. Contractors would be selected based on their capability and would also be responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure built by them for five years before handing them over to the civic body.
The works to be identified by the consultants would include fly-overs, road bridges and subways. However, these works would not be taken up initially.
Clarifying certain doubts raised by the Corporation engineers, Ms.Gayathri and Mr.Srinivasan said the works would be executed in coordination with various government agencies so that impediments, if any, were sorted out smoothly.
There would not be any land acquisition at this stage. However, it would be obligatory on the part of the Corporation to remove all encroachments along the roads that were being developed.
Road Users Forum
The consultants would hold extensive consultations with stakeholders and the Corporation would be required to promote Road Users Forum.
