Traffic flow on Poonamallee High Road near the Anna Arch and on Anna Nagar 3rd Main Road is likely to improve soon with the Highways Department giving the finishing touches to a Rs. 117-crore flyover. Motorists are hopeful that they will soon be able to drive through the junction without having to wait at signals for a long time.
Though it took five years for the flyover to be ready since work was possible only at night, the department managed to save the Anna Arch with a change in design.
“There is a bottleneck between a mall and the Arch and during rush hour, it takes about 30 minutes to cross the stretch. Pedestrians too find it difficult as traffic from three directions converges here. The footpaths and bus shelters in this area must be restored,” said N. Kumaraswamy, a resident of Aminjikarai. One section of the flyover that allows traffic from Poonamallee High Road to Nelson Manickam Road was opened in March this year.
Presently, works including erection of light poles as part of electrification, fixing of signage, installation of rain water chutes and painting are in progress, said a source in the department. The cement concreting of the last span was completed before Deepavali and even the bituminous tar layer has been laid, the source added.
Engineers associated with the work recalled how there were issues relating to service lines in every single foundation of the massive structure that spans Poonamallee High Road.
The flyover was proposed in 2010 during the DMK regime and it was decided to demolish the twin arches built to commemorate the platinum jubilee celebrations of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai and inaugurated by the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran on January 1, 1986.
However, the landmark was saved thanks to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who decided to retain the 59-foot-high arches. This led to a change in design whereby one arm of the flyover was shifted by 20 m so the arches could remain. Traffic from the Parry’s Corner side and entering Anna Nagar will take this arm.
