PWD initiates process to complete work for Road overbridge over Uppar canal

Public Works Department initiates completion of long-delayed road overbridge over Uppar canal, connecting Kamaraj Salai and Marimalai Adigal Salai.

The Public Works Department has initiated the process to complete the long-delayed construction of a road overbridge (ROB) over Uppar canal here.

The ROB, originally conceived in 2005, to connect the busy arterial stretches of Kamaraj Salai and Marimalai Adigal Salai, was left incomplete for several years due to various reasons including administrative lapses, arbitration and lack of funds.

The bridge was designed to be 732-metre-long with two-lane capacity. When construction came to a halt in 2019, 632 metres of the bridge was completed. For linking the bridge to the point near Newton Theatre on Marimalai Adigal Salai and Balaji Theatre on Kamaraj Salai, civil works need to take place for the remaining 100 metres, a PWD official said.

“Now, we have invited tenders for the remaining work and also for the reconstruction of the old masonry bridge near Balaji Theatre. The masonry bridge is almost 60 years old and has been found to be structurally unstable. There is a chance that the bridge may collapse and as per the opinion of Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, we have decided to reconstruct the bridge. We thought it fit to take up both works together. They will cost the exchequer around ₹26 crore,” the official said.

The official further said the work would commence in two months and was expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The ROB is to cater to two lane traffic with 7.5 metre carriage way and 1.5 metre raised footpaths on either side. There will also be provision for service ducts below the footpath.

Along with the construction of the bridges, work would also be taken up to strengthen the drain for increasing its carriage capacity. The drainage system along the ROB would also be strengthened, the official added.