Traffic congestion on Nelson Manickam Road may reduce in a few months as work to construct a bridge across the Cooum river in Mehta Nagar is set to be completed by January.
The facility, being constructed at a cost of Rs.3.68 crore by Chennai Corporation, will link Mehta Nagar Officer's Colony First Street and Venkatachalapathy Street near Harrington Road.
B. Damodaran, a resident of Mehta Nagar, said that apart from the residents of Mehta Nagar, the bridge would be beneficial to those travelling from Nungambakkam to Chetpet, Sterling Road and Kilpauk. Traffic on Nelson Manickam Road would also be reduced as the bridge would serve as a short-cut route.
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Officials of the Corporation said the bridge would be 150 metres long and 8.5 metres wide and have pedestrian footpaths. A part of the construction cost is being met from the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund.
The civic body is also carrying out widening works of bridges and culverts in various parts of the city. Work to widen the bridge in Aspiran Garden, which connects traffic between Kilpauk Garden Road and New Avadi Road, has begun. As the road is being used by more motorists, the bridge across Otteri Nullah canal is being widening from the existing 7.5 m to 11.5 m facility. The Rs.55.34 lakh project would be completed in six months, officials said.
Similarly, a culvert on Cochrane Basin Road is being widened at a cost of Rs.33.93 lakh and the work would be completed in four months. The level of the culvert at the junction of Kalasathamman Koil Street and Chinnandi Madam, Kodungaiyur is being raised at a cost of Rs.20.24 lakh.
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Work to renovate the damaged subway near Communicable Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet, is set to be completed by this month-end, the officials added.