Despite the intervention of spells of rain and some rounds of litigation, the Chennai corporation has completed the construction of a flyover on the Cenotaph Road-Turnbulls Road junction. The flyover will be thrown open to traffic by chief minister M Karunanidhi on Friday evening.

The local body commenced the construction of Rs 19.93-crore bridge in February this year. The flyover is expected to decongest in and around Nandanam to a greater extent, as vehicles from the southern suburbs will move on Anna Salai without any hassles. The traffic police is likely to re-introduce two-way traffic on the busy Cenotaph Road, Turnbulls Road, and Chamiers Road, say official sources.

They said the department was examining the proposal to allow buses and other heavy vehicles on the flyover, which is 458 metres long and 8 metres wide and will allow two-lane traffic. Though the flyover has adequate space for two-way traffic, the curve on one end is discouraging the thought of allowing heavy vehicles.

Traffic police authorities are in consultation with corporation officials to formulate the traffic plan once the bridge is thrown open. Additional commissioner for traffic Shakeel Akhter said the police would formally announce new traffic plan on Thursday.

The flyover is expected to help motorists from Tiruvanmiyur, Adyar, IT corridor and the southern suburbs reach Anna Salai without any hold-ups.

The flyover itself got mired in controversy even before the construction. The local body originally preferred to build the facility on Chamiers Road and Adyar Gate Club Road, diagonally opposite the present alignment. Following representations from residents' welfare associations, the issue was taken up with the Anna University and traffic police, and the alignment altered.

The project was also caught in litigation, when residents moved the court against the civic body's decision to invoke the urgency clause for acquisition of lands for the project.

The vehicular subway at the Jones Road level crossing in Saidapet, estimated at Rs 8.89 crore and a high-level bridge costing Rs 9.3 crore at the Alandur causeway were expected to be ready by May itself. The bridge near the corporation slaughter-house in Saidapet will help motorists move onto Ekkaduthangal shortly, rather than the heavily congested GST Road near Guindy and Kathipara junction.


Source: TOI