Work on road overbridge over Uppar drain to be completed in four months

UT Matters: Construction of Uppar drain road overbridge in Puducherry to be completed in four months, amid traffic regulations.

The long-pending work for construction of a road overbridge (ROB) over Uppar drain, is expected to be completed in the next four months. This has kindled some hope among the residents of Saram, Venkata Nagar and surrounding areas.

Being undertaken by the Public Works Department, the ₹29.25 crore-project got delayed by nearly six years and it is likely to take at least another four months to be completed.

At present, the authorities have announced traffic regulations on Kamaraj Salai and are in the process of completing the remaining portion of the ROB.

The ROB, originally conceived in 2005, to connect the busy arterial stretches of Kamaraj Salai and Maraimalai 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 and the portion linking the bridge to the point near Newton Theatre on Maraimalai Adigal Salai was left incomplete.

“The PWD invited tenders for the remaining work this year and the work has now resumed for reconstruction of the remaining portion of the ROB and old masonry bridge near Balaji Theatre. The masonry bridge is almost 60 years old and is 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, the work has resumed,” an official said.