Monsoon rains, delays in shifting utilities, borrow area approvals, and financial constraints played spoilsport
Source : DTNEXT | Dated : Feb 9, 2025
Chennai: The work on the Tamil Nadu stretch of the 262-km Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway project, scheduled to be completed by August this year, is running behind schedule; thanks to monsoon rains, delays in shifting utilities, borrow area approvals, and financial constraints faced by the contracts. The work is now expected to be over only by the end of the year.
According to the National Highway’s work progress report shared by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha, the 106-km greenfield expressway in Tamil Nadu is constructed in four packages: Gudipala (AP) to Walajahpet, Walajahpet to Arakkonam, Arakkonam to Kancheepuram, and Kancheepuram to Sriperumbudur. The physical progress of the work ranges from 90 per cent in the Walajahpet to Arakkonam stretch to 52 per cent in the Arakkonam to Kancheepuram section.
In Tamil Nadu, the work progress in the Arakkonam to Kancheepuram section is the slowest at 52 per cent due to financial constraints of the concessionaire and delay in the determination of compensation for land and crop in the extra high tension utility shifting by the district administration. The work is expected to be completed only by the end of this year. The Kancheepuram to Sriperumbudur section works will be completed by September while the Walajahpet to Arakkonam section will be completed by July.
The 262-km Bengaluru-Chennai Greenfield Expressway commences at Hosakote near Bengaluru and ends at Sriperumbudur, running a distance of 262 km via Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The entirely new alignment is being built in the three states under 10 packages to make sure that the works would be executed in the fixed time duration. Even as the works on the stretch under the Karnataka was completed, the works underway in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are getting delayed.
The fully access-controlled expressway will initially be a four-lane facility, but as traffic volume increases, it will be widened to six-lane and eight-lane. The expressway is designed for a vehicular speed of 120 km per hour and will sharply reduce travel time.