The State Highways Department has submitted to the Central government revised designs for three flyovers proposed in Coimbatore city.
Official sources said the new design for flyovers at Singanallur, Saravanampatti and Saibaba Temple junction would have provisions for metro rail project. The flyovers would be 7.5 metres wide on either side and would have four-metre space in the centre for metro rail. A clear picture on the status of the new designs was expected within a week or so, said the sources.
The flyover at Singanallur was for 2.4 km and the estimated project cost was ₹140 crore. The flyover at Saravanampatti was for one km (₹80 crore) and at Saibaba Temple junction was for 800 metres (₹59 crore).
The new design might see slight revision of the project cost. But the revision of cost would not affect the projects and flyovers would certainly come up at these three locations, the sources added.
The Centre already approved the three projects and sanctioned funds. However, there was a delay in construction of the flyovers as the State government planned a metro rail service for Coimbatore. The flyovers were redesigned now to provide provisions for the metro rail and the proposals submitted again to the Centre.
Kongu Global Forum’s director J. Santheesh said these three projects were already delayed and discussions were on for almost five years. There should be no further delay in implementing these because of procedural issues. “It is time to act for the benefit of the public as these are crucial requirements of the city,” he said.
