While the work on constructing a four-lane flyover at Melamadai junction was progressing at a fast clip, the work on building the bridge at Goripalayam junction must be expedited, Minister for Highways E.V. Velu said here on Thursday.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had laid foundation stone for both the bridges on October 30 last year.
After inspecting the construction work at the two sites, Mr. Velu said that 30% of the Melamadai bridge work on Sivaganga Road had been completed. All the 28 pillars had been erected. The work would be completed by August next year. The work envisages construction of a 1,100 metre-long flyover with four lanes and service roads on an outlay of ₹150 crore.
However, only 15% of the work on the 1,296-metre bridge at Goripalayam junction with a new bridge across Vaigai river for 450 metres had been completed. The estimated cost of the work was ₹200 crore.
The Minister attributed the slow pace to constant vehicular movement in those stretches. “Sometimes, the police do not permit the work in order to maintain uninterrupted traffic flow. I have advised the engineers to carry out the work during night hours,” the Minister said. He said high quality of work was being maintained.
When his attention was drawn to the poor condition of narrow roads through which buses and other vehicles were being diverted to facilitate the Goripalayam bridge work, Mr. Velu asked the Collector to make the roads motorable.
He said that the Highways Department had proposed to construct an additional RoB (road overbridge) parallel to the South Gate ROB to decongest traffic flow.
To a question, he said that works of 70 road overbridges were pending for 13 to 16 years when the DMK came to power. “The works were pending as land acquisitions were not completed. We have taken steps to complete the land acquisition and now 30 ROBs have been constructed,” he added.
The Chief Minister has deputed five special District Revenue Officers for land acquisition meant for road projects, he said.
Special Officer for Highways -Technical R. Chandrasekar; Chief Engineer K.G. Sathyaprakash; Highways Research Station Director M. Saravanan; Superintending Engineer R.K. Ramesh; and Divisional Engineer M. Mohanagandhi accompanied the Minister.
Published - September 05, 2024 07:39 pm IST
