In a major relief to commuters heading to and from Cuddalore, the second arm of the ₹35.96 crore flyover on the 100-foot road will be ready by the end of this month. The western arm of the flyover would be thrown open to public use soon.
“The Public Works Department has completed the construction of parapet, expansion of joints and concrete portion on the western arm while another arm of the Y-shaped flyover connecting the Arumparthapuram by-pass to a length of 372 metres is nearing completion,” an official said.
The eastern arm of the flyover connecting Indira Gandhi square to Marappalam was inaugurated by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on July 28 last year.
Work on the bridge on the 100-foot road, which runs to 1.2 km, was sanctioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2014. The project cost worked out to about ₹34. 96 crore, apart from ₹5 crore set aside by the Southern Railway for widening the 17.9-metre stretch near the railway track to a four-lane road, an official of the Public Works Department said.
The bridge had four-metre wide limited use subway at the existing level-crossing and service roads with five metres width with drains on either side. The bridge had a carriageway on the Chennai-Cuddalore arm and the Villupuram arm.
The ramp for the bridge on the northern side begins near Natesan Nagar and near the Transport Department office on the other side. Eighteen concrete pillars and slabs constitute the structure. The bridge will help commuters cut travel time and distance through Point Care Street.
Delayed project
PWD sources said the second flyover at Arumparthapuram had been affected because of delay in land acquisition for the project.
The foundation for the bridge at Villianur at an estimated cost of ₹34 crore was launched as a government-railway joint initiative in 2013. “Though the government had taken steps to acquire the land for the project, a few of the landowners aggrieved by the acquisition process, approached the Madras High Court. Consequent to the directions of the Madras High Court, the Land Acquisition Proceedings were initiated as per the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013,” an official said.
