Alignments fixed for grade separators, foot overbridges

Structures to ease traffic and pedestrian movement at major junctions

Alignments of a host of proposed grade separators and foot overbridges in various parts of the city have been finalised.

The proposed alignments would ease traffic congestion, facilitate pedestrian movement and multi-modal integration, civic officials said.

One such grade separator whose alignment was fixed was for the one proposed at Madhya Kailash.

“The earlier proposal was to develop the grade separator in the shape of a trumpet. But land acquisition was a problem. We had to construct the flyover without acquisition of land from Central Leather Research Institute. We changed the design to an L-shape. This will not require any acquisition of land,” an official said.

The L-shaped grade separator at Madhya Kailash junction will permit two-way traffic between Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR) and Sardar Patel Road. The ramp for the separator would take off 110 m away from the bridge’s ramp opposite IIT Madras. The ramp on Rajiv Gandhi Salai would cover the junction near Kasturba Nagar railway station.

Other major grade separators proposed include Sholinganallur Junction and Akkarai on East Coast Road. The junctions have reported a traffic of more than 10,000 passenger car units. Similarly, major facilities for multi-modal integration have been proposed in areas such as Egmore, Tambaram and Tondiarpet.

Linking amenities

The foot overbridge and escalator in Egmore would connect E.V.R. Periyar Salai and Gandhi Irwin Road with ramps connecting the Egmore Metro, Egmore Bus Stop, railway station and the Police Commissioner’s Office.

“We will acquire land from the Commissioner’s Office. The escalator will have a width of 2.5 m and a length of over 700 m. The number of pedestrians using the facility is expected to be over 4,000 per hour during rush hour,” said an official.

The Heritage Conservation Committee of the Chennai Metropolitan Area would suggest an architecture and style similar to the heritage buildings in the vicinity including Egmore railway station. Similarly, the foot overbridge near the Tambaram railway station connecting East and West Tambaram is also expected to facilitate pedestrian movement and multi-modal integration, connecting various modes of transport including bus, rail and proposed metrorail.

Preventing accidents

The foot over bridge with escalator in Tondiarpet would connect V.O.C. Nagar and Tondiarpet railway station.

“Many accidents have been reported because of pedestrians crossing the tracks. The foot overbridge will link the bus and rail stations,” an official said.