The ₹1.8-crore pedestrian underpass across the Chennai-Bengaluru highway in Vellore was opened on Wednesday. Officials said that eight CCTV cameras were installed in the new subway to monitor the movement of people and, more importantly, to prevent hawkers and other encroachments in the new facility.
Initially, the subway will be maintained by the National Highways Authority of India at least for a year. Later, the facility will be taken care of by the Vellore City Corporation. The underpass was built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. on behalf of the NHAI.
It will end a detour of at least 1 km of travel by motorists and walkers.
More importantly, the new facility will save more lives on the stretch because, on an average, the highway at that spot in Sathuvachari witnessed at least three accidents every month.
“The new underpass will also help decongest the service lanes on both sides of the highway. The facility will also be monitored to prevent any encroachments, especially hawkers, taking advantage of the movement of walkers,” said district Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian.
The underpass is 25 metres long, 5.5 metres wide and 3 metres high. It has equipment to pump out water, CCTV cameras and LED street lights. The tiled facility also has reflectors, sign boards and ramps for persons with disabilities.
Steel railings are also provided to ensure safety of walkers, especially, senior citizens, women and children. The work, which was started two years ago in November (2020), was originally planned to be completed in 45 days but was delayed due to continuous flow of traffic on the highway.
Three such underpasses are also coming up in places like Perumugai, Kandaneri and Vettuvanam in Vellore.
