A limited use subway at Periyar Nagar on Thiruvanaikovil Trunk Road will be ready before August 15, according to sources in the Highways Department.
The opening will considerably ease the traffic congestion caused by the closure of the Periyar Nagar road overbridge, which will be replaced by a new bridge to be built at the site.
The old narrow bridge, which has turned a traffic bottleneck on the arterial Thiruvanaikovil Trunk Road, has since been demolished to make way for the new road overbridge (ROB). Rail Vikas Nigam Limited has already commenced the work on construction of the railway portion of the ROB.
Meanwhile, the Highways Department has expedited the construction of the subway as the closure of the bridge has caused much traffic congestion in Thiruvanaikovil and Srirangam. Traffic diversions are in force in view of the closure of the bridge and the Highways Department has been given seven weeks to complete the subway.
“We are well on course for completing the subway ahead of the deadline. Nearly 80 per cent of the work has been completed,” an official of the Highways Department told The Hindu .
Once opened, two-wheelers, light vehicles and buses could go via the subway, he said. However, heavy vehicles such as lorries would not be allowed to use the subway.
The Highways Department started construction of the subway last year but the work was suspended during the monsoon owing to high groundwater table and mudslides. Only after the bridge was closed for traffic the department was able to resume the construction of the subway. The new four-lane ROB project was sanctioned a few years back at an estimate of Rs.47 crore. Meanwhile, the Srirangam Makkal Nala Sangam presented a petition to the district authorities at the weekly public grievances meeting on Monday, urging them to acquire lands without any impartiality.
The association claimed that a piece of land, where a private place of worship was situated, had been left out of the land acquisition plan for the bridge. While land belonging to other places of worship along the road had been acquired, this piece of land held by a private Hindu organisation, had been left out deliberately, the association alleged.
However, the official of the Highways Department maintained that the piece of land in question was not required for the ROB structure as such. It was located adjacent to the service lane. However, the land was not considered for acquisition as already a Corporation road was running alongside the place of worship and this road would be developed as a service lane. The move was intended to keep the land acquisition cost minimal. Besides, another road parallel to the existing road would be redundant, he said.
