After years of delay, the Vadapalani flyover at the intersection of Jawarharlal Nehru Road and Arcot Road is ready. The government has to decide the date of opening. The 600-metre-long bi-directional flyover runs parallel below the viaduct of Chennai Metro Rail near the Vadapalani station and once operational, it will ease traffic on both the roads.
Chennai Metro Rail sources said they had finished their portion of the construction of the flyover and handed it over to the Highways department recently.
“We planned our work in such a manner that we could finish the remaining work to join the approach ramps with the main structure. Painting is on and so is electrification. The bituminous tar layer has also been laid,” said an official in the Highways Department.
Now that the construction will be completed in a few days, Chennai Metro Rail plans to open the flyover for vehicular traffic soon. “We have been thinking of a few dates in the next two weeks and will give those to the State government for approval. Once they choose a date, the flyover will be inaugurated,” an official said.
The project was mooted as early as 2005-06 and received the approval from the State government, but was put off owing to work on the Chennai Metro Rail. In 2014, it was revived and took two years to be completed. CMRL constructed the main structure of the flyover and the Highways Department widened the road, constructed stormwater drains, formed service lanes and constructed the approach ramps.
Motorists using the junction have been demanding that the facility be extended over the next junction — the Lakshman Sruthi signal — which is another bottleneck on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai.
K. Alamelu, who lives in Kodambakkam, said, “Vehicles just pile up at this junction and it takes a long time to cross a short stretch. Traffic planners should have foreseen the snarls at this junction and constructed a longer flyover.”
Published - November 21, 2016 12:00 am IST
