Construction of second stage of Railway Junction road over bridge inaugurated

Construction of second stage of multi-level road overbridge near Tiruchi railway junction inaugurated by Municipal Administration Minister.

Construction of the second stage of the multi-level road overbridge (ROB) near the railway junction in the city was formally inaugurated by Municipal Administration Minister K. N. Nehru on Tuesday.

The first stage of the project, which is being executed by the railways and the Highways Department, was completed last year.

Under the second stage, the existing narrow bridge across the railway line near Tiruchi junction would be dismantled and a new one built. The bridge would run between Aristo roundabout and P&T Colony near Mannarpuram. The ROB would include arms leading towards the railway junction and its rear entrance at Kallukuzhi.

Sources in the Highways Department indicated that the railways had also awarded the contract for construction of the main bridge portion above the railway track. The approach roads would be built by the Highways Department at a cost of about ₹14.78 crore. The new bridge with pedestrian pathways would run for a total length of 770 metres. The width of the bridge would be 13.50 metres. The two-way approach road to the railway junction would run for a length of 158 metres.

The second stage of the project would not require any land acquisition but for the alienation of about 235 square metres of land from the Department of Posts. The Revenue authorities were in the process of identifying a suitable alternative site to be given in exchange to the Department of Posts. Though the descent of the new bridge would end well ahead of P&T Colony, the land was required to widen the road on this stretch for free flow of traffic, the sources said.

The administrative sanction for the project, estimated to cost ₹74 crore, was originally issued in February 2011. The project cost for the two stages was subsequently revised to ₹168.34 crore. Construction of the first stage of the flyover began in February 2014 and was scheduled to be completed by February 2017. But it was completed last year after suffering repeated time overruns due to delays in land acquisition.

Highways Department sources said the second stage of the project would be completed within 15 months. The works were expected to get underway in full swing over the next few days, after notifying traffic diversions in consultation with district administration and police, the sources said.