State Highways Department has commenced work on construction of a subway and other minor bridges as part of the new road overbridge (ROB) across the railway track at Periyar Nagar on the Thiruvanaikovil Trunk Road in the city.
The new four-lane ROB will replace the existing narrow two-lane bridge that has turned a traffic bottleneck in Srirangam in recent years. The State government has sanctioned the project at an estimated cost of about Rs. 47 crore.
In the first stage, the Highways Department has awarded tenders for the construction of the limited use subway across the railway line and a few other components, including minor bridges across the Thirumanjana Cauvery and Kar Vaical. Works have begun on these components at the project site.
The Highways Department has first taken up construction of a subway so as to ensure that vehicles passing through the busy road could be diverted through it. Ultimately, the subway will serve as the route for vehicles for Kumbakonathan Salai from Periyar Nagar.
The height of subway will be nearly four metres against the normal height of 2.5 metres so that even buses could be operated through it, sources in the department said.
Once the subway was ready, traffic would be diverted through it facilitating the construction of the new bridge. Tenders for the construction of the main bridge will be called later once the land acquisition process is completed, the sources said.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a public sector undertaking, will construct the railway portion of the proposed ROB.
