In a few weeks, residents of Kancheepuram will be able to use the four-lane wide, nearly 1-km-long viaduct that links Chennai-Kancheepuram Road and Periya Kammala Street.
With the Railways finishing work on the span over the tracks, the Highways Department is currently finishing construction of the 68th span.
Sources in the department said it would take another month to complete the last two spans that connect with the span over the tracks. By June, the overpass is expected to be ready, an official said.
The Highways Department had completed work on 66 spans in 2019 but had to wait for nearly a year and half for the Railways to finish their work.
The ₹60-crore work began in May 2017 and is being carried out on a cost-sharing basis by the two departments.
Change in alignment
The department had to change the alignment of the overpass as the original one ran close to the Iravadeeswarar and Piravaadeeswarar temples, which are heritage structures.
This took time and also helped reduce the need for land acquisition. Only around ₹75 lakh was spent on land acquisition.
The State government had announced the road-over-bridge to replace level-crossing 29 near the Kancheepuram railway station in 2011.
Residents had objected to the alignment, thinking it would involve the demolition of many structures.
However, with the change in alignment, there was very minimal land acquisition.
