Skywalk-cum-FOB at Tambaram soon

It will connect MTC terminus, SETC bus stop and Railway station

A footover bridge is coming up near Tambaram railway station on GST road.

Tambaram will soon get a skywalk-cum-foot over bridge (FOB) that will allow pedestrians to cross the Grand Southern Trunk Road, which is 44.32 metres wide at that point. Nearly 62,000 pedestrians cross the road at that point. The facility will also connect the MTC terminus, the SETC bus stop and the Tambaram Railway station.

Space has been provided for a ticket counter at the point where the skywalk meets the station’s FOB where the width will be 11 metres. Sources in the Highways Department explained that tenders have been floated for the construction of the facility that will have six portions and escalators and ramps on either side of the road.

Two escalators planned

There will also be two escalators on both sides. The ramp will take off in the open space belonging to the Department near Hotel Vasantha Bhavan.

The total length of the facility would be 240 metres and is estimated to cost ₹19.49 crore, which includes the cost for shifting of bus lay bay, installation of CCTVs, and construction of ticket counter. If everything goes as per schedule, the work is likely to begin by August this year.

“Traffic is chaotic at that point, especially in the evenings when SETC and TNSTC buses wait on the road. Adding to the chaos, private buses take over much of the road space on the eastern side of the GST Road. The facility should hopefully reduce congestion and help in better movement of vehicles,” said V. Srinivasan, a resident of Tambaram.

Welcoming the proposal, East Tambaram resident Priya Manikandan said each time vehicles are stopped at the signal to allow pedestrians to walk across the road, there is a traffic pile-up. “Small traders and schoolchildren would be the major beneficiaries of this long-pending project. This proposal, which was envisaged a few years ago, still languishes at tender level itself. If completed it would ensure better connectivity between two sides of a major transport hub,” she said.