The Hindu 16.05.2013
Designs for grade separators finalised
The largest facility will be at the junction of College Road, Sterling Road and Valluvar Kottam High Road —Photo: V. Ganesan
The proposal for four grade separators in central
Chennai has finally taken off with Chennai Corporation approving designs
for the facilities.
The civic body on Wednesday gave
TNUIFSL (Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited)
the nod on the final design for the four projects while that for a fifth
one will be finalised shortly. The grade separators will come up at the
junction of College Road, Sterling Road and Valluvar Kottam High Road;
Arcot Salai, Saligramam and K.K. Nagar 80 feet Road junction; Mandaveli
Junction near Mandaiveli Bus Stand and Gandhi Mandapam Salai and
Ponniamman Koil Salai Junction at Kotturpuram. Chennai Corporation will
acquire land for construction of the facilities using Transfer of
Development Rights (TDR).
Officials from TNUIFSL on
Wednesday presented the various design options for the four flyovers in
the presence of officials from CMDA, MTC and IIT-Madras professors.
However, the best among the three design options available for the grade
separator at Adhithanar Salai-Pantheon Road-Dr. Rukmani Lakshmipathy
Road junction was not finalised.
“The largest among
the four will be at the junction of College Road, Sterling Road and
Valluvar Kottam High Road, with four lanes. Recommendations on minor
alterations have been suggested for better pedestrian movement. The
final design will be readied shortly,” said an official of Chennai
Corporation.
“A corridor approach between Chetpet
bridge and Valluvar Kottam has been adopted for finalisation of the
design of the grade separator. A detailed project report will be ready
in three months,” said the official.
“The question of
where to situate the facility has been a challenge for nearly 25 years.
A study was done ten years ago by Anna University as Chennai
Corporation wanted a different solution. It proposed solutions to tackle
the challenge caused by Cooum as a barrier. But it was not
implemented,” said a senior traffic planner.
After
the land acquisition is initiated, most of the owners of land are likely
to opt for TDR. CMDA expects the number of applicants for Development
Rights Certificate to increase in such localities in the coming months.
The certificate will entitle land owners to transfer their development rights and use it in any other property.
The
CMDA has not received any applications for Chennai Corporation grade
separators since August 2009, said an official of CMDA. The owners who
lose land for such projects may also seek development rights on the same
site with additional Floor Space Index, which determines the maximum
buildable area in a given plot. The CMDA is the authority to issue the
certificates.
The feasibility study of a number of
grade separators including the four was part of a larger traffic
management system mooted by the civic body last year.
The
civic body also initiated a study on modification of flyover at the
junctions of North Usman Road-Kodambakkam High Road and Usman
Road-Duraisamy Road.
The commencement of feasibility
study for construction of grade separator at Bharathi Salai and
Royapettah Clock Tower Junction was suspended because of metro rail
work.