Chennai Corporation to relay 1,110 roads at an estimate of ₹172.7 crore

About ₹68.70 crore has been allocated under the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund and Savings Fund covering 125 km and ₹104 crore covering 101 km under the Singara Chennai 2.0 project

The Greater Chennai Corporation has begun relaying the roads and has begun removing the top surface of the road or milling the road, in preparation for this. 

According to an official, the relaying will take place in a phased manner depending on the release of funds. The civic body will take up the work of relaying the roads where other projects such as storm-water drain construction, power cable laying or metro work had not been taken up. 

“We aim to complete all the main work before the northeast monsoon but if there is anything left, we will lay a basic layer and then complete it after the monsoon”, said the official. 

At present, the Corporation is working on laying 1,110 roads running to a length of 226 km at an estimated cost of ₹172.70 crore. About ₹68.70 crore had been allocated under the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund and Savings Fund covering 125 km and ₹104 crore covering 101 km under the Singara Chennai 2.0 project.

Milling of the surface had been taken up on Valluvar Kottam High Road, Illaya Street in Tondiarpet, and in Anna Nagar First Avenue. The official said that roads had been grouped into packages and the work order period for each one of them was approximately four months; for a single road, two or three days were needed for milling the surface and another two or three days for relaying it.

Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi is chairing a committee that will oversee the construction and quality control of these roads. A check-list has been circulated among officials and engineers to ensure quality control of the roads which contains directives such as ensuring that the mix’s temperature is between 140 and 160 degrees centigrade, field surveys are carried out prior to relaying, establishing barricades or traffic diversions and checking the application of tack coat or  a light application of asphalt emulsion that acts as an adhesive between hot layers.