‘New bridge across Buckingham Canal lacks safety measures’

No protective railings on ramps leading to the bridge; poor approach road

The sorry state of the road on the Nemmeli side of the bridge connecting the ECR with Rajiv Gandhi Salai —Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan

The high-level bridge constructed across Buckingham Canal to connect Nemmeli on East Coast Road (ECR) with Tiruporur on Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road) is yet to serve its purpose.

The bridge, which was completed last year after a series of delays, is still without certain safety measures, alleged Narayanan, a resident of Tiruporur.

He said that lack of protective railings on the ramps leading to the bridge from both sides and a poor approach road on the Nemmeli side made using the bridge difficult for the motorists, particularly motorcyclists, especially when they negotiated the stretch at night.

Enquiries reveal that the project of constructing the bridge was taken up way back in 2010 at an estimated cost of Rs.4.10 crore under the tsunami rehabilitation programme and it moved at a snail’s pace until 2012.

When the project was revived in 2013 by the Highways Department with a firm commitment to completing it by March 2014, the cost was revised to Rs. 6 crore.

Then, after further delays, the project was completed in 2015.

The bridge has been designed in such a manner that it stood about 5.5 metres above the high-tide level of the Buckingham canal, said sources.