Salem Mulluvadi Gate rail overbridge work nearing completion

Chief Minister to inaugurate Mulluvadi Gate overbridge in Salem district via video conferencing in Dec. Construction began in 2016 at ₹83 crore, delayed due to land acquisition & legal issues. COVID-19 & rain added to delay. Supreme Court verdict in June allowed work to resume. Cost escalated to ₹124.89 crore, work to be completed by end of Nov.

The rail overbridge work at Mulluvadi Gate in Salem district is nearing completion, and the Chief Minister is expected to inaugurate it through video conferencing in December.

Following appeals from various sections of the public, the State government, in 2016, announced the construction of an overbridge at Mulluvadi Gate at ₹ 83 crore, and it was expected to be completed in 18 months. But, due to land acquisition and legal issues, the work was delayed. The work resumed in December 2018. However, the work was halted again due to a case pending in the Supreme Court. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic added to the delay.

In June this year, the Supreme Court pronounced a verdict in favour of the Highways Department, which helped in resuming the remaining portion of the work. In the third week of June, engineers from the Public Works Department (PWD) inspected the site and gave instructions to expedite the work.

Officials attached to the PWD and the Highways department said that due to land acquisition, the project cost had escalated to ₹ 124.89 crores. Though they had planned to complete the work before the third week of November, it was delayed due to rain.

The officials said that the work would be completed by the end of November.