Chennai Port - Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor To Be Completed by December 2024, To Double Port Capacity: Nitin Gadkari

The new double-decker elevated highway between Chennai port and Maduravoyal in Tamil Nadu, according to Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, would reduce travel time for vehicles destined for the port by one hour.

The 20.5 km double-decker elevated highway between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal, is being built at a cost of Rs 5,855 crore. The project entails constructing a four-lane elevated corridor.

The project will be carried out using the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

The Chennai Port, the state government and the Centre are jointly implementing the project. A detailed project report (DPR) was prepared by the NHAI, the executing agency for the project.

The minister shared a series of tweets featuring graphical images of the Greenfield Corridor Project under the Bharatmala Pariyojana initiative in Tamil Nadu.

Significance of the corridor

The double-decker corridor will have two levels. The first level is for light vehicles from Koyambedu to Chennai Port, and the second is for heavy vehicles from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal.

The first level of the corridor facilitates the movement of light vehicles between Koyambedu and Chennai Port. The corridor has ramps for entry and exit at 13 different locations.

They include Chintadripet, Monteith Road, Binny Road, Spurtank Road, Aminjikarai Police Station, Kamaraj Salai, Sivananda Salai, College Road and Arumbakkam.

The second level was designed specifically for heavy motor vehicles between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal.

Currently, cargo traffic from the south or west region of the state has to detour through the Outer Ring Road at Perungalathur towards Maduravoyal, Red Hills, Tiruvottiyur and enter the Chennai Port in Royapuram — nearly 75 km away, taking about two hours.

However, using the proposed elevated corridor, it will take just 45 minutes.

The corridor will function as a separate route for Chennai's port traffic and boost handling capacity by 48 per cent. This will minimise waiting time by six hours according to the minister.

The minister has announced that the double-decker project will be finished by December 2024, as per Hindustan Times report.