At least 30% of work on the ₹146-crore Medavakkam flyover on Velachery-Tambaram Road has been completed.
The 2.38-km flyover, once completed, will allow traffic to cross three junctions — Sholinganallur - Medavakkam, Medavakkam- Mambakkam and Mount Medavakkam.
A total of 36 months is the time-frame for its construction. The work, which began in February last year, is progressing on schedule with the Highways Department completing 50% of the 112 open foundations, highways officials said.
“Thirty piers have been constructed and two deck slabs launched. We have completed the foundations at the junctions too. Land acquisition was taken up much ahead of the construction and work on utilities, including shifting of EB lines and transformers, was completed before we began work,” an official said.
Since land was made available adjacent to the existing road, traffic had been diverted to the sides of the flyover without causing trouble to motorists, officials said.
The Velachery-Tambaram road witnesses heavy traffic as it runs between GST Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai and connects hundreds of residential localities.
The flyover, which would be the longest in the city, would help reduce accidents too, officials said.
“The Sholinganallur-Medavakkam junction witnesses high volume of traffic. In the mornings, it often takes over 30 minutes to enter Sholinganallur-Medavakkam Road to reach Rajiv Gandhi Salai. The road to the IT Corridor is also not wide enough for the traffic,” said Vidya Rajangam, who works in an IT park in Sholinganallur.
