Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is likely to begin demolition of a part of the flyover at the Royapettah High Road-Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai junction within two weeks.
A portion of the flyover has to be demolished to build the Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai Metro station, which is a part of corridor 3 of the 116-km phase II project, and it will be built underground.
According to CMRL officials, the station structure falls in the same zone as that of the foundation of the flyover. Only a part of the flyover (from Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai junction towards Royapettah) will be torn down, and the process is expected to begin after Pongal. The demolition will be completed in about two months, officials said.
The Chennai city Traffic Police have announced diversions, which come into effect starting Sunday, to allow for the construction of Thirumayilai, Mandaveli, and Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai Metro stations.
“The flyover will be rebuilt only after the underground station is constructed. This is likely to take about three years. Commuters will have to bear with the inconvenience until then, unfortunately. We even proposed to drop this station earlier, considering the difficulty the construction process will cause to commuters. But after discussions, we decided that it will be better to go ahead with the station, since it will help reduce traffic congestion in the future,” an official said.
The underground station will be constructed at a depth of about 15-18 m, with two entry/exit points and will be located on Royapettah High Road, very close to the Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai junction.
Not the only one
Another flyover, which will be partly razed for the phase II project, is the one at Adyar junction, but that will only be done later this year.
