Chennai-Maduravoyal elevated highway
In January 2009, the government flagged off the elevated road project from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal on National Highway 4, which at 19 km is the longest elevated corridor project in the country. It will facilitate swift and continuous dispersal of freight in and out of Chennai Port to other parts of the country via the Golden Quadrilateral corridor, which links Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai through a series of four and six lane express highways spanning 5846 km. The project is aimed at providing an impetus to the transport sector, encouraging trade and integrating the economy. It is significant because it relates economic growth with local development; 12000 families of the weaker sections in this area will be rehabilitated, and the adjacent river Cooum will be beautified. This four lane road is being constructed by National Highways Authority of India on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis, while the Government of Tamil Nadu and Chennai Port Trust have agreed to share equally the cost of land acquisition, and rehabilitation and resettlement of families from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Network of flyovers
The upsurge in the IT and ITES sectors, along with Chennai’s role as a gateway to India, has ushered in a population growth resulting in a demand for greater infrastructure. Chennai’s traffic density, will be regulated by a series of flyovers in Perambur, Turn Bulls Road-Cenotaph Road, Rangarajapuram Level Crossing, Kathivakkam Level Crossing, Mint Junction, Vysarpadi-Ganesapuram subway, Villivakkam Level Crossing, and vehicular subways at Maniakara Choultry Street off Old Jail Road and Jones Road Level Crossing in Saidapet. Additionally, the causeway at Saidapet will be replaced by a high level bridge. The flyovers along North Usman Road-Mahalingapuram Road, South Usman Road-Duraisamy Road and G N Chetty Road-Tirumalai Road are already operational, and the government is currently sourcing land for the other projects, which are expected to be inaugurated in 2010.
| Chennai’s Anna University has partnered with the Indian Space Research Institute (ISRO) to launch a satellite, a first in the history of space research in India. The satellite will be launched during the next flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in mid-2009. The vehicle will carry a small remote-sensing satellite, named Anusat, developed by Anna University’s students and researchers under ISRO’s guidance. The data obtained from the satellite will be used for drought monitoring, wasteland management, urban planning, mineralogical mapping, flood-risk management and management of National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS). |
ISRO will provide its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for the launch of Anusat.
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