Steel bridge to link OMR, ECR with Thoraipakkam, Neelankarai
Currently, ECR and OMR are connected only at Tiruvanmiyur and Sholinganallur, which are approximately 11 km apart.;
Steel bridge (Image/X)
CHENNAI: The State Highways Department will soon construct a steel bridge across the Buckingham Canal, linking Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR), thereby connecting Thoraipakkam with Neelankarai.
The department has floated a tender for the construction of a 36-metre, six-lane, high-level steel bridge, which also includes small vehicular underpasses on either side of the canal, bund roads to cater to local traffic, and approach roads to the bridge. The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 37 crore.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the bridge, which will allow boat navigation with a vertical clearance of 4 metres above the maximum flood level of 2.70 metres.
The proposed link road will run for 1.4 km from Neelankarai on ECR, crossing the Buckingham Canal, and pass through Thoraipakkam to connect with the OMR-Pallavaram Thoraipakkam Radial Road junction. The department has already completed 860 metres of the link road from the OMR side in the first phase.
According to sources in the department, encroachments on Water Resources Department (WRD) land need to be cleared to facilitate construction. “Residents on WRD land will be resettled through the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board,” an official said. “Compensation has already been paid for land acquisition on the Neelankarai side to construct the 450-metre approach road.”
Currently, ECR and OMR are connected only at Tiruvanmiyur and Sholinganallur, which are approximately 11 km apart. “The link road is the only road that will directly connect the city’s key arterial routes — GST Road, Mount–Madipakkam Road, Velachery–Tambaram Road, OMR, and ECR. It will offer residents along the ECR a shorter route into the city and help decongest traffic at the Sholinganallur and Tiruvanmiyur junctions. Once completed, it is expected to divert around 40% of the traffic from the OMR-Pallavaram Thoraipakkam Radial Road junction,” the official noted. “It will also offer direct connectivity from ECR and surrounding areas to the airport.”