Foot over-bridge at Tambaram won’t be ready anytime soon

Foot over-bridge at Tambaram won’t be ready anytime soon

P Oppili & V Ayyappan TNN

Chennai:03.12.2020

The under-construction foot over bridge over the GST Road connecting Tambaram old bus terminal with the railway station is not going to be ready anytime soon as the railway authorities are delaying in giving their nod to the work within their premises, highways department sources said.

When the project was in the proposal stage, a senior railway official who was in charge of road over bridges was very cordial with government officials. But, now there is no such cooperation from the railway authorities, the sources said.

A senior department official said the length of the FoB is 242 meters. Of this, 130 meters is within the railway premises and the rest is over the GST Road. Almost 90% work is over on GST Road of the FoB, the official said.

On an average about 50,000 people move from east Tambaram to west Tambaram and vice-versa daily. So, once constructed, the facility will become a vital link for the daily users.

A senior railway official said the role of railways was minimal for the project. “Railways need not do any work in connection with the FoB. So, need for a permission is not a major factor behind the delay in the work,” he added. Railways is working to improve passenger amenities at stations and the bridge is considered as an advantage for the commuters.