The project to construct the first grade separator in Puducherrry has moved ahead with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways convening a meeting in New Delhi on May 12 to finalise the alignment for the elevated corridor connecting Indira Gandhi Square and Rajiv Gandhi Square.
The Ministry appointed consultant, Civilmantra Infracon Private Limited, which has prepared the alignment and submitted a report to the Ministry for its approval.
“We held preliminary discussions on the alignment a few weeks ago. Hopefully, the meeting next week will be the final one before the alignment is approved. Once the alignment gets approval, the same consultant will prepare a detailed project report,” a senior official told The Hindu.
The meeting would be attended by officials of the Ministry from its New Delhi and Chennai offices; the Public Works Department; and representatives of Civilmantra.
The 1.4-km and two-lane grade separator connecting the two busy junctions would cost around ₹400 crore. The Centre had in principle agreed to fund the project fully. The consultant fee of about ₹60 lakh was incurred by the Ministry. In the initial stages of conceptualisation of the project, the PWD was planning to have two grade separators — one at Indira Gandhi Square and the other at Rajiv Gandhi Square, the official said.
After a site inspection by Ministry officials, it was decided to have a single grade separator because of the heavy flow of traffic and business activities on either side of the proposed corridor.
“The consultant will need only around two months to submit the project report. After they submit the report, the Ministry will go for the bidding process to start construction. We expect the work to start by the end of this year,” said another official.
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