Inner Ring Road (IRR), connecting SRP Tools and Manali, and running to a length of approximately 34 km, is one of the busiest stretches in the city, with vehicular traffic touching 1.5 lakh a day.
But would you believe that the road did not even exist on the map of Madras until the early 1980s?
The project to lay phase I of the road from Guindy to Padi began only in 1978, and was completed only by 1981. At that time, it was a two-lane road with cycle lanes and pavements.
Until then, vehicles from Tambaram, and travelling to Vadapalani, had no other option but to take a circuitous route.
K.V. Kanakambaran, president, Industrial Estate Manufacturer’s Association, Guindy, said, in the place where the road stands today, there used to be a narrow vandi paathai frequented by bullock carts, bicycles and tractors.
“Apart from A, B, C and D blocks of the estate, the rest were agricultural plots. The industries and commerce department gave land for the formation of the road. Beyond the estate, there was a mango grove and an open ground,” he said, adding the road was a boon to various industrial units when it was laid.
The 11.7-km-long phase-I was constructed at a cost of Rs. 2.45 crore with World Bank funds.
A former engineer of the highways department said the portion of IRR that runs through K.K. Nagar and Ashok Nagar was part of the Housing Board layout.
“The road was formed following recommendations made by the Madras Area Traffic Study Unit in 1974. As far as the road from Vadapalani to Koyambedu was concerned, originally, the land belonged to the Madras Municipal Corporation, obtained for a drainage scheme. A portion was handed over to the highways department for the road,” he said.
IRR was formed in four phases. Phase-II of the road is from Padi to Madhavaram, phase-III from Madhavaram to Manali and Phase-IV from OTA to SRP Tools. It now has six lanes and is called Jawaharlal Nehru Salai.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Deepa H. RamaKrishnan / Chennai – August 22nd, 2014