Kulavanigarpuram rail overbridge work to begin after the retreat of northeast monsoon 

The project is expected to begin once land acquisition is completed and the State government awards tenders for the ‘approach portion’ of the bridge

After a delay for over 14 years, construction of a rail overbridge across the busy Kulavanigarpuram manned-level crossing near Palayamkottai Central Prison on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur line will begin after the retreat of northeast monsoon.

Whenever this railway gate is closed - 14 times a day, vehicles can be seen queueing up to Palayamkottai bus stand on one side and up to the playground of Florence Swainson Higher Secondary School for the Deaf on the other side.

Two decades ago, the Railway Ministry came forward to construct the bridge  on a cost-sharing basis.  A ‘Y’ shaped bridge was planned to connect Nagercoil and Ambasamudram roads with the road leading to the Palayamkottai bus stand. The project cost then was ₹9 crore.

The then Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid the foundation stone for constructing the four-lane ROB in 2008 on an outlay of ₹25.50 crore, escalated due to the delay. But, fearing demolition, owners of houses, apartments and commercial establishments on both sides of the road moved the court and obtained an interim stay for the project. Though the Department of Highways made an appeal against the stay in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court and got the interim stay vacated, the delay continued due to obstacles in land acquisition.

 When the then Madurai Divisional Railway Manager, A.K. Rastogi, visited the spot in 2014, he said the ROB would only be a two-lane structure for heavy vehicles while an underpass will be built for the movement of motorcycles and autorickshaws. However, there was no progress in the proposal as nobody took it forward.

 Now, the Indian Railways, after giving its nod for this project afresh, has approved its General Agreement Drawing (GAD) on October 29, 2021. However, the physical work still got delayed as the State government was yet to complete land acquisition.

 “The project will begin once land acquisition is completed and the State government awards tenders for the ‘approach portion,’ the railway ministry informed in a written reply to Tirunelveli MP S. Gnanathiraviam, who raised this issue in the Lok Sabha during the zero hour in December 2020.