Work to widen a stretch of ECR into a four-lane road has begun.
What’s happening? The Mamallapuram-Mugaiyur stretch on ECR will be made into a four-lane road. Contractors have begun removing shrubs and clearing the sides of the road. The cost will be ₹780 crores, and ₹1,200 crores will be spent on acquiring land.
- The road has two lanes till Puducherry. The curves on the highway have been straightened by the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company.
- Tenders will soon be floated for the Marakkanam to Puducherry stretch. The work here involves a 33-km bypass from Koonimedu to the Puducherry-Villupuram Road.
Building bridges: The road runs through rivers and backwaters. Hence, there are bridges planned at Poonjeri near Mamallapuram and near Puducherry. One regular traveller to Marakkanam said widening was a long-pending need, with improvements in lighting also needed. Another said the work shouldn’t spoil the greenery and views of the beach.