Work on a four-lane bridge connecting Indira Nagar 2nd Avenue and Rajiv Gandhi Salai over the Buckingham Canal will begin on Friday.
Officials of the Chennai Corporation said that the facility, to be constructed at a cost of Rs.3.12 crore, would be 19.2 m long and 19.8 m wide.
It would have footpaths on both sides. The facility, to be completed in 10 months, is being constructed in place of an old iron pedestrian bridge that gave way after a brick-laden lorry tried crossing it in November 2009.
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During the construction, a coffer dam would be created to divert water. The bridge would only be supported at the banks that are to be reinforced. A few encroachments on the Indira Nagar side have to be removed and the zonal officer has been informed about it.
N. Gopi, a resident of 13th Cross Street, Indira Nagar, said that the bridge would be useful to residents who have to go to Taramani either for work or studies. “Many people used to take the old bridge from Taramani to reach the Adyar bus depot. The iron bridge was meant only for two-wheelers and pedestrians. However, after the barricades at its entrances were removed, autorickshaws and even small cars started using it.”
On commissioning, the new four-lane bridge would cut travel time for vehicles bound for Besant Nagar and Adyar on Rajiv Gandhi Salai and from Velachery. It would also help ease traffic at the Thiruvanmiyur junction.
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Sources in the civic body said that there had been a proposal to construct a two-lane bridge about five years ago. The idea was given up as the tenders did not evoke any response.