Velachery flyover’s 1 arm to be open for public by May-end

Velachery flyover’s 1 arm to be open for public by May-end

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai:27.04.2021

One arm of the Taramani-Velachery flyover is expected to be thrown open to road users by next month, while the 2km-long flyover in Medavakkam, the longest in the city, is expected to be ready by July end.

A senior state highways department official said that the arm of the Velachery flyover beginning on Taramani Link Road needed a slab placed that could be completed in two days. To install LED lights, the department has deposited the required amount with Greater Chennai Corporation which will award the contract only after the model code of conduct for the assembly election ends after counting of votes on May 2.

The lighting work is expected to last close to a month, said the official. The Taramani arm is Level 2, while Level 1, linking Velacherry Bypass Road, will take a few more months to complete.

At the Medavakkam flyover, where one arm has been thrown open and work on the longer arm is on, the main issue is relocating Metrowater pipes carrying desalinated water from the Nemmeli plant. The delay in procuring and bringing to the site the required equipment and material to shift the pipeline affected the project. The relocation of the pipelines is expected to be completed by the first week of May before the highways department takes up construction of the retaining walls.

This work is expected to be completed by July-end, said the official.

Once the flyovers at Velachery, built at a cost of Rs 186 crore, and Medavakkam, costing ₹51.5 crore, are complete, congestion is expected to reduce to a great extent at both places, the official said.

The arm of the flyover beginning on Taramani Link Road needed a slab placed that could be over in two days