With nearly 70 % of the construction of a new road overbridge (ROB) across the railway track at Periyar Nagar on Thiruvanaikovil Trunk Road in the city having been completed, the district administration has announced traffic diversions to facilitate the Highways Department take up the remaining portion of work on the Thiruvanaikovil side shortly.
The traffic diversions would be enforced within the next few days, sources in the Highways Department said. Accordingly, all city buses heading to Srirangam from Chathram bus stand would have to go via Odathurai Bridge, Chennai By-pass Road, ‘Y’ Road check-post, Thiruvanaikovil Trunk Road and Gandhi Road to reach Srirangam. In the return direction, they would go via Amma Mandapam, Mambazhasalai and Cauvery bridge to reach Chathram bus stand.
Buses heading towards Samayapuram, Manachannallur and Lalgudi routes from Chathram bus stand would go via Odathurai bridge and Chennai By-pass Road to reach Kollidam check-post. In the return direction, the buses would go via Gandhi Road, Srirangam, Amma Mandapam and Mambazhasalai to reach Chathram bus stand.
All mofussil buses bound for Thuraiyur, Ariyalur and Perambalur from Chathram bus stand would go via Odathurai bridge, Chennai By-pass Road and Kollidam check-post to reach No.1 Toll Gate and return in the same route.
Collector K.Rajamani, in his notification, said the traffic diversions will remain in force till the bridge is completed and opened for traffic.
Construction of the bridge has been under way in full swing and is expected to be completed by March next year. The project was sanctioned by the government in 2011, but construction began only last year.
The four-lane ROB, being executed at an estimated ₹47 crore, had to be put on hold as the Highways Department had to await completion of the ROB on Odathurai Road to allow diversion of traffic towards Chennai Bypass Road. The new four-lane ROB will replace the narrow two-lane bridge, which had turned into a traffic bottleneck in Srirangam. The old bridge has since been demolished and a subway was built to allow traffic alongside the new bridge.
Sources in the Highways Department said that the bridge would have 11 piers on the Thiruvanaikovil side and once work on building the decks commence, traffic cannot be allowed. However, two-wheeler and light vehicle traffic is likely to be allowed via the sub-way as long as it does not affect the construction.
Work on the construction of the bridge portion on Kumbakonam Salai would be completed before this month.
Service lanes would be built after land acquisition is completed, the sources said and indicated that the process of acquisition of about 14,000 square metres of land including private and government land is expected to be completed shortly.
