The Hindu : Front Page : Road overbridge partially opened for traffic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2006
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Road overbridge partially opened for traffic

S.Ganesan

`Trial run' on Bheema Nagar-Warehouse section to go on for about 10 to 15 days

NEW BEGINNING: Buses plying on the Palakkarai road overbridge in Tiruchi. — Photo: M. Moorthy

TIRUCHI: The Palakkarai Road overbridge here has been partially opened for traffic on a trial basis.

Town bus services and other vehicles have been allowed to ply over the bridge on the Bheema Nagar-Warehouse section since Monday, as work is still under way on the T-shaped Bridge across the Uyyakondan river. Residents of Palakkarai and Bheema Nagar areas would have to wait for another month for the opening of the bridge fully. The bridge, with nearly 50 spans, was sanctioned at an estimated cost of nearly Rs.14 crore.

The bridge, coming up across the railway level crossing at Bheema Nagar, would be the last one to be completed of the four bridges that were sanctioned in 1998 at the behest of the late Rangarajan Kumaramangalam. The Palakkarai Main Road and the Heber Road had remained closed since March 2000, putting heavy pressure on the Thennur High Road and the Thillai Nagar Main Road due to traffic diversion. Residents of the region had been put to much hardship, as access to public transport was curtailed.

The project has run into several time overruns due to a host of factors.

Authorities stated that the project was in final stages and the construction of the final 35-metre long pre-stressed single span across the Uyyakondan river would be completed by the end of this month. The service bridges across the river have been completed. "The bridge would be fully thrown open for traffic by November 15," a senior official said.

The current `trial run' on the Bheema Nagar-Warehouse section would go on for about 10 to 15 days to allow "compacting" of the approach roads. The section would be closed again temporarily for blacktopping of the approach roads before being permanently opened for traffic, officials said.

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