Source : The Hindu Date : 08.07.2009

Few road projects to be ready by end of the year

K. Manikandan

— Photo: A.Muralitharan

Taking shape: The road overbridge to replace the railway level-crossing near Tambaram Sanatorium railway station is expected to be thrown open by year-end.

TAMBARAM: Delay in land acquisition, shifting of utilities, problems over design and alignment and delay on the part of Southern Railway in completing its portion of work are some of the reasons for the delay in completing road connectivity projects as scheduled in the southern suburbs of Chennai.

Despite problems posed on various fronts, at least a few projects are expected to be completed and commissioned before the end of this year.

The first facility expected to become operational is a subway to replace the level-crossing (LC No. 19) near Meenambakkam railway station. The Rs.9.3-crore project (that excludes Southern Railway’s share) is nearing completion and expected to be thrown open next month. But for completion of an underground sump for collecting rainwater during monsoon and other small pending works, major portion of the subway has been completed, State Highways Department officials said.

Another facility that is nearing completion is a road overbride to replace LC No. 29 near Tambaram Sanatorium railway station. The Rs.16-crore project (excluding Southern Railway’s share) has been completed, except for finishing touches on the Chitlappakkam, East Tambaram and Grand Southern Trunk Road directions.

The delay was also due to a change in design as sought by East Tambaram residents for access to Bharathamatha Street. This overbridge, officials hoped, would be opened before the year end.

Another crucial project where work had been speeded up was the bridge connecting GST Road with Pallavaram – Thoraipakkam Radial Road. The Rs.22-crore project (excluding Southern Railway’s share) had run into difficulties over problems in alignment design and shifting of utilities. Southern Railway, officials said, had completed their share of installing the super structure across the railway tracks. They hoped to complete the pending works at the earliest. Once completed, it would improve connectivity between GST Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai (IT Corridor) easing congestion at various points.

Another pending project is the Rs. 14-crore road overbridge to replace LC No. 24 near Pallavaram railway station. Delay in completing land acquisition procedure from the Ministry of Defence alone had taken several months. Work had picked up now, officials said, but did not commit on the time frame for the bridge to become operational.

Delay in completing land acquisition formalities had delayed even the commencement of preliminary works on a vehicular subway to replace the railway level-crossing on Dargah Road (LC No. 25) near Pallavaram. Work was expected to commence in about two months time. Officials said that work on the Rs. 35-crore road overbridge at Tambaram was going on and expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

Other projects that were in the pipeline include a Rs.4-crore limited use subway in Radha Nagar, Chromepet and pedestrian subways in Adambakkam (opposite Nidhi School) and near A.M. Jain College, Meenambakkam (through AAI quarters).

Officials said that greater help and speeding up of work from other government agencies, especially the Revenue Department, local bodies, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and water supply agencies for land acquisition and shifting of utilities such as underground power supply cables, lamp-posts, transformers and junction boxes, telephone cables and water supply mainlines would greatly help the Highways Department complete all projects on time.