Delays in road projects cost Rs 1,469 crore

Chennai: The delay in completing major road projects in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu has not only caused hardships to motorists but also resulted in a cost overrun of more than 1,469 crore.

This includes six-laning of East Coast Road (ECR), construction of bridge at Medavakkam, formation of Tambaram Eastern Bypass, widening of Ennore Road and road over-bridges (ROBs) at Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road and Chennai-Thiruvallur High (CTH) Road. The government issued orders for some of these projects in 2004 and for almost two decades, they remained incomplete. Meanwhile, private patta owners (from whom the highways department acquired land for the projects) approached courts or resorted to private negotations seeking better compensation.