The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Overbridge to be ready next month-end

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Friday, May 21, 2010
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Overbridge to be ready next month-end

Staff Reporter

Contracts awarded for construction of flyovers at Porur junction and Mogappair

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

LAUNCH: Highways Minister Vellakoil Saminathan (second from right) at the inauguration of a road overbridge project in Vyasarpadi on Thursday.

CHENNAI: The road overbridge (ROB) at Tambaram Sanatorium to replace railway level-crossing (LC 29), coming up at a cost of Rs.16 crore, will be completed by next month-end, Highways Minister Vellakoil Saminathan said here on Thursday.

Speaking to presspersons after laying the foundation stone for the ROB to replace the Vyasarpadi underpass, he said the work on the ROB to connect GST Road and Pallavaram Thoraipakkam Radial Road, being implemented at a cost of Rs.64.54 crore, would be completed in August. The work of widening Tiruvottiyur High Road was progressing and land acquisition was on. The Highways Department had called for re-tender for the construction of a flyover at Moolakadai at a cost of Rs.50 crore. Contracts had been awarded and soil testing had begun for construction of flyovers at Porur junction and Mogappair, the Minister said.

The facility at Vyasarpadi would be constructed at a cost of Rs.88.65 crore, of which Rs.8 crore would be the contribution of Southern Railway. The ROB with three arms would be 1,720 metre long and 15 metre wide.

Mr. Saminathan said since 2006 a total of 104 ROB and rail underbridge projects to replace level-crossings, at a cost of Rs.2,246 crore, had been initiated.

Highways Secretary G.Santhanam said that tenders would be floated for 69 such projects in 2010-11 involving the Railways and in 2011-12 40 more had been planned. He said that the department would speed up work on the Vyasarpadi ROB project which is to be completed in 36 months time.

Southern Railway Chief Administrative Officer R. Ramanathan said that in the Chennai-Arakonam, Chennai–Gummidipoondi and Chennai-Chengalpet sectors there were 80 level-crossings that needed to be replaced. These works had to be speeded up when additional tracks were laid. He called for more cooperation from the State Highways Department for these projects.

Mayor M. Subramanian said that a total of Rs.165.74 crore was being spent on construction of flyovers and subways in north Chennai. The Highways department would be acquiring 21 grounds of land belonging to Chennai Corporation as well as private individuals at Rs.21 crore.

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