Tenders will soon be floated for the construction of a pair of flyovers at the Retteri junction in west Chennai at a cost of Rs. 52 crore.
According to sources in the highways department, the design for the three-lane facilities that will come up at the junction at the intersection of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai and Perambur Red Hills Road has been approved and estimates drawn.
The junction is a crucial one and provides connectivity to areas including Perambur, Anna Nagar, Red Hills and Madhavaram.
“Traffic from different directions converges at the junction, which gets jammed during peak hours. The Perambur Road has a lot of commercial establishments and fish stalls, and unless the road is widened, the flyovers will not be of much use to local residents. Share autorickshaws also line up on either side, adding to the confusion,” said S. Kumar, a resident of neighbouring Vinayakapuram.
The flyovers, of 540 metre length each , would be independent structures and come up on either side of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, popularly known as 100 Feet Road. “The flyovers have been designed in such a manner that an existing culvert running below the road surface will not be affected,” said a source in the department.
L. Kamala, a resident of Lakshmipuram, said the flyovers would help segregate heavy container and residential traffic. “Containers and buses don’t stop during school hours. A large numbers of school students cross the junction. A subway or some other facility should be constructed for pedestrians to get across the road. There is an RTO office just beyond the signals and a large number of vehicles are parked on that side causing traffic snarls,” she said.
