Stymied by land acquisition hassles, the much-delayed twin flyovers project in Velachery is likely to be completed in six months’ time, according to official sources.
Land acquisition proceedings for a property that was stalled due to a court case, are now in an advanced stage, with the court deciding in favour of the project since it is for a public cause. “The residents too have agreed to part with their land. The compensation will be paid soon,” explained an official of the Highways Department that is constructing the flyovers at a cost of ₹108 crore, to help decongest the very busy Vijayanagar junction.
Apart from the land acquisition, shifting of utilities, including water mains, and permissions for traffic diversions took some time and delayed the work. Both the flyovers will allow one-way traffic and have two lanes each.
Already five of the 15 spans of the 640-m-long first level, that will take off from Velachery Bypass Road and land on the road to Tambaram near the Velachery MRTS station, have been completed. This flyover would land around 190m ahead of the MRTS bridge.
As far as the second-level flyover is concerned, of the 32 spans, 26 have been completed.
“The central span, which is the longest, at 40m length, and comes up over the junction, is nearing completion. This 1,200-m-long flyover would be at a height of 15m and will run from Taramani Link Road to Velachery Bypass Road,” the official explained.
“Many residents feel that the work is not progressing at the desired speed. The contract period is to come to an end sometime this month. The work was not properly programmed,” said P. Manishankar, a resident of Velachery, urging the department to complete the construction of the flyovers at the earliest.
