Concrete bus routes, interior roads soon

Staff Reporter

The Chennai Corporation on Friday will commence a drive to identify bus routes suitable for concrete roads.

A
number of bus routes are likely to get concrete roads under the Tamil
Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Project (TNURIP). The civic body expects
to spend at least Rs. 70 crore for the improvement of 100 bus routes
this year.

However, a decision on the number of roads
to be concrete-topped will be made after studying the flow of traffic
and restrictions in each locality.

Concrete roads
last more than 30 years but take a long time for curing and this
requires heavy traffic regulation on the stretch for many days.

Interior stretches to be ready by March

Most of the 1,125 interior roads identified for concrete topping will be completed by March next year.

The
civic body has issued orders for seven packages of work on interior
roads. Work order for 58 additional packages will be issued next week.

The
Chennai Corporation has asked utility agencies including telecom
service providers, Metrowater and Tangedco to prevent digging up such
stretches. A chunk of the interior roads to be concrete-topped are less
than 6 metres in width; many roads range from 6-10 metres and a few are
more than 10 metres wide. Concrete roads on bus routes will be more
challenging, demanding meticulous planning.

Telecom
service providers and cable TV operators have already planned
modification of existing underground infrastructure to facilitate
construction of cement concrete roads.