The age-old Elephant Gate bridge was fully demolished on Saturday. The Southern Railway dismantled the railway overbridge (ROB) within 12 days, after starting work on April 27.
Called the 9R bridge, located between the Dr. MGR Chennai Central and the Basin Bridge railway station, the bridge was constructed in 1933.
A senior official of the Southern Railway said that the old bridge was demolished to increase the number of railway tracks, as the Central station was getting busier by the day.
The Railway Board had sanctioned ₹43.77 crore for re-building a new and bigger bridge as early as 2008-09, but the demolition work was delayed due to various reasons, including the shifting of the electricity line passing under the bridge.
