Traffic chaos in the city’s northern neighbourhood is set to ease soon as the flyover in Vyasarpadi that will connect Chennai with the Kolkata highway (NH5) is nearing completion.
The four-lane flyover under construction is a ‘Y’-shaped facility similar to the flyover at Rangarajapuram in T. Nagar.
As per the project plan, the flyover takes off on Basin Bridge Road and divides into two-lanes on each side — one reaching Erukkancheri High Road and the other, Sathyamurthy Nagar Main Road near Kalyanapuram. The ramp on the Erukkancheri High Road connects the northern part of the city with the NH5.
Government officials said that almost 70 per cent of the work on the project including construction of a ramp on the Satyamurthy Nagar side has been completed by the State highways department, one of the executing agencies of the project.
At present, the department has started the work on the Kolkata highway side while the Southern Railway has commenced its work on the portion of the flyover that passes over railway tracks near the Vyasarpadi Jiva station.
Currently, traffic is allowed on the bitumen-topped service lanes, which is around 3,000 metres long, on both sides of the flyover.
To be completed by September
“The entire project will be completed by September this year by the State highways and the railways, too, is expected to finish their portion of work by that time,” said an official.
Originally, the Rs. 88.68-crore flyover was sanctioned under the Chennai Metropolitan Development Programme (CMDP) along with other projects for flyovers at Moolakadai, Porur, Thirumangalam and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar in 2006. However, as the project involved work on connecting the ramps over the railway tracks, the Southern Railway was roped in. Subsequently, the project was taken up under the Railways Works scheme by the highways on a 50-50 cost-sharing basis by the two government agencies.
Delay due to land acquisition
“Though the project actually began in March 2010, we were able to complete the acquisition of around 1.4 lakh square feet of land with Rs. 1.65 crore given as compensation only in June, 2012. So, there is a delay in the completion of the project on schedule,” said the official.
The flyover is set to accommodate most of the vehicular traffic that is currently directed through the subway at Vyasarpadi. The subway often gets clogged, especially during rush hours, with more than 10,000 vehicles on an average passing through every day.
“A long row of trucks fight for space with other motorists in the subway. Further, during the monsoon, the subway gets flooded, forcing us to take a much longer route to reach the city. The flyover will be a boon for motorists as it will reduce travel time,” said K. Shankar, a resident of Vyasarpadi.
The flyover is 1,720 metres long and 17.2 metres wide (capable of accommodating two buses at a time). Besides, it will have around 150 street lights including four high-mast lights, a stormwater drain and staircases for pedestrians to access the subway.
Y-shaped facility will take off on Basin Bridge Road
Project being jointly executed by Highways and Southern Railway
