East Coast Road


49

State Highway 49
East Coast Road
கிழக்கு கடற்கரைச்சாலை
Route information
Maintained by Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation
Length: 690 km (430 mi)
Major junctions
From: Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai
To: Pondicherry, Karaikal, Ramanathapuram, Kanyakumari
Location
Districts: Chennai, Kanchipuram, Vilupuram, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari
Highway system

State Highway 49, also known as East Coast Road (ECR) (Tamil:கிழக்கு கடற்கரைச்சாலை) is a two lane highway in Tamil Nadu, India, built along the coast of the Bay of Bengal connecting Tamil Nadu's state capital city Chennai with Cuddalore via Pondicherry. Presently, the East Coast Road has been extended up to Kanyakumari via Chidambaram, Sirkali, Akkur, Tharagambadi,Karaikal, Nagore, Nagapattinam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Adirampattinam, Manora, Manamelkudi, Ramanathapuram, Koodankulam, Tuticorin.[1] The total length of the road is about 800 km from Chennai to Kanyakumari.

The east coast road offers scenic views of the Bay of Bengal.

History

Prior to its completion, the East Coast Road mainly consisted of village roads connecting one fishermen hamlet to another. The vital connecting link then was the Old Mahabalipuram Road(SH-49A) till Mahabalipuram. Pondicherry was reached from Chennai through the still existent and busy route via Tambaram, Tindivanam along NH45. The road was built in 1998 by interlinking and improving a series of small village roads that connected the fishing villages along the east coast. The idea was to create infrastructure, facilitate inter-state connectivity and boost tourist movement. But within two years, it started showing signs of distress, adversely affecting the quality of rides and safety of motorists. In 2000, the State government signed a concessionaire agreement with the TNRDC in order to improve the road, at a cost of 60 crore.[2] The 113-km long stretch from Akkarai to Pondicherry, dotted with resorts and beach houses, became a toll facility in March 2002 and was upgraded into a two-lane road from a small winding road passing through 154 villages.[3] In 2010, TNRDC announced that toll collections had reached an all-time high at 1.08 crore in December 2009 against the 54.67 lakh collected in April 2002 when toll operations started. There were protests in Tamil Nadu after toll gates were added in 2002 for a road operating from 1998. In 2015, the ruling BJP government removed 60 toll gates in UP highways which were new and still collecting heavy toll from Tamil Nadu even 18 years after completion[4] In the 10th century AD when the Cholas ruled the whole of Southern India they used this road for Business Supply chain with Southern ports then it was called " Vadugaperuvazhi" in olden day means " The Big way to the North".[5]

ECR today

Mahabalipuram beach on the coromandel coast

The ECR starts at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai and is a part of the Chennai City roads till Uthandi. From Uthandi starts the scenic beachway section starts as a toll road. The speed of the vehicles on this road is restricted to a maximum of 80 km/h. The State Government is keen on expediting the proposal for four-laning of the East Coast Road (ECR). The State Highways Department is in the process of seeking certain geometrical changes in the present alignment of the ECR as a measure to reduce the number of fatal accidents.[6]

The ECR was made a toll road in April 2002. The ECR till Hanumanthai near Pondicherry is 113.2 km long and has a total of 22 bends. On an average 10,000 passenger car units (PCUs) use the road during rush hour and a total of 40,000 PCUs daily, up from about 5,000 daily before the construction of the road. The process of acquiring land for widening the 11.4-km stretch from Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai covering six revenue villages (including Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Vettuvankani), which is under the control of the Highways Department, is under way.[7] The stretch currently has width varying between 50 ft and 80 ft. After widening at a sanctioned cost of 3,540 million, the stretch would be uniformly 30.5 m (100 ft) wide and would have six lanes, a 1.2-m-wide median, footpath-cum-stormwater drain.ECR extends up to Hanumanthai. On the way to Hanumanthai, a famous location Marakkanam is situated. On the ECR road right side famous Bhoomiswarar Temple is situated. It is believed that Sri Bhoomiswara is the God for Bhoomi, hence, many perform pooja before buying land placing the sale agreement on His holy feet. Hence real estate promoters also rush to this location.[8]

Scenic views of the ECR.

Places of interest


References

  1. "ECR to be converted into four lane road". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. "Compendium PPP Projects in State Highways" (PDF). Infrastructure India. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  3. Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (23 February 2012). "After a decade on fast lane, ECR is set to expand". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 26 Feb 2012.
  4. Ramakrishnan, Deepa (January 3, 2010). "Monthly toll collection on ECR touches all-time high". Chennai. The Hindu. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
  5. Chakravathy, Pradeep (27 August 2012). "Monuments tell a tale". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 27 Aug 2012.
  6. East Coast Road four-laning plan will be speeded up: official
  7. Report for immediate ECR 4-laning till Mamallapuram
  8. Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (22 June 2012). "ECR widening work to start next year". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 22 Jun 2012.

External links

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