Chennai Port Expressway To Boost East-West Connectivity

Chennai citizens would be soon enjoying smooth connectivity between the eastern and the western end of the city through the Chennai port expressway and Maduravoyal-Poonamallee Elevated Corridor. The corridor would be the longest four-way expressway in the country, and once completed, it would cut down the travel distance by 30 km.

Here is all you need to know about the upcoming infrastructure:

The project

The 29-km-long corridor would connect Chennai Port with Poonamallee via Maduravoyal. The approved alignment shows that the road would run parallel to the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) line and would cross the Chintadripet and the Park Town stations. The corridor would briefly merge with the National Highway-4. A cloverleaf-interchange junction is being built at Maduravoyal and Koyambedu. The entry ramps are planned at Sivananda Salai and College Road while the exit ramps are planned at Kamarajar Salai and Spur Tank Road. Recently, the Centre provided financial assistance of Rs 5,000 crore to the state for 12 major expressways which also includes this route that would facilitate freight carriers from Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial belt to the Chennai port. The total cost of building the project is Rs 1,800 crore as estimated in 2012. The corridor would ease the congestion and promote trade through Chennai port.

The timeline

The Chennai port expressway was first proposed in 2008, but, was put on hold due to the alignment conflict between the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Water Resources Department. While all the clearances were in place and land acquisition was started, the project was shelved in 2012 when 30 per cent of the construction work was already done and the stretch was expected to be operational by 2013. It was in February 2014 when the High Court quashed the stop-work notice of Tamil Nadu's Public Works Department and ordered the state government to extend support for finishing the shelved project. It was in March 2017 when the NHAI formed a special committee to monitor the progress of the project for which the fresh tenders were floated.

Impact on real estate

The expressway when completed will be connected to the Chennai Ring Road that further connects the two ends of the city. The corridor will decongest the main city roads and would make travelling smoother for the traffic hailing from Vandalur via the ORR or Minjur. The main area that is expected to benefit the most is Poonamallee, one of the most affordable hubs in Chennai. According to data available with PropTiger.com, there are over 100 projects in the area and most of them are ready to move in. The property prices here vary from Rs 4,000-6,000 per sqft and many prominent developers are already active here.

Once the road becomes operational, the commuters would have easy access to nearby areas such as ACS Hospital, Koyambedu, Chetpet and other major city areas of commercial importance. Maduravoyal is another residential area that is a part of the Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation. The area does not have any new real estate development but the neighbouring area of Mogappair is a booming real estate hub. There are over 120 projects available in the area and 10 are still under construction and rest of them are ready for possession. The properties here are expensive and ranges between Rs 5,000-7,000 per sqft. There are a number of luxury projects here that make the location more premium. With proximity to the upcoming expressway, the attractiveness of the area is clear.