In a relief to motorists, the western arm of the much-awaited flyover on the 100-feet road has been opened to traffic by the Public Works Department. This has eased congestion from Marappalam to Indira Gandhi Square.
Vehicles going from Indira Gandhi Square to Cuddalore Road will take the eastern arm. The eastern arm of the flyover was inaugurated by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on July 28 last year.
Work on the 100-feet road over the bridge, 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 was a 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 would help commuters cut travel time and distance through Point Care Street.
Land acquisition delay
PWD sources said the second flyover at Arumparthapuram had been affected because of the 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. “Although the government had taken steps to acquire land for the project, a few landowners aggrieved by the acquisition approached the Madras High Court. “Consequent to the directions of the Madras High Court, the Land Acquisition Proceedings were initiated as per the Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013,” an official said.
