Members of the MES Road Ganapathypuram Welfare Association, East Tambaram, have requested the Southern Railway to speed up the construction work of a pedestrian underpass, which connects East and West Tambaram.
The subway, which is being constructed at a cost of ₹2 crore, was supposed to be completed in May. However, the work is progressing at a snail’s pace due to the delay in releasing the payment to the contractor. The underpass is being constructed under a flyover-cum-grade separator, connecting the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road and Mudichur Road, West Tambaram, and Velachery Main Road, East Tambaram. If thrown open to the public, the subway will provide easy access from Sudhanandha Bharathi Road, off MES Road, East Tambaram, to GST Road.
Arun Kumar Bhattacharjeee, secretary, MES Road Ganapathypuram Welfare Association, said, “We began the struggle for the construction of a subway in 2011. Repeated representations were made to the Southern Railway officials, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and to the elected representatives at regular intervals. We also conducted a signature campaign highlighting the issue. However, despite all the efforts taken, the work started only in March 2017, but was stalled again due to the delay in paying the contractor. The work has resumed but is progressing at a slow pace, causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians.”
Finding it difficult to walk nearly a kilometre and then climb a foot-over-bridge on the premises of the Tambaram railway station, pedestrians cross the railway tracks between East and West Tambaram, risking their lives.
“The subway is constructed through cut-and-cover method, wherein a trench is excavated and roofed over with an overhead support system strong enough to carry the load of what is to be built above the subway. At present, work on the approach road to the subway is getting ready and the work on the construction of the subway is expected to be completed within two months,” an official of the Southern Railway said.
