CHENNAI: Their deadlines have seen repeated extensions, forcing motorists to endure a long wait at a busy junction for signal and railway level- crossing. The hardship to public at two congested places in the city is set to come to an end next month.
Highways department officials say they have set a target of June 10, by which time they hope to complete the pending works on flyovers at Tiruvottriyur and Porur.
The previous deadline for the two projects, whose proposals were brought up in 2010, was May 31 this year.
Issues such as land acquisition, shifting of utilities like electricity cables, limited working time due to traffic restriction had all resulted in the slow pace of work on both flyovers.
In the case of Porur flyover, the highways department had to change its design in 2014. The Tiruvottriyur flyover, alternatively called as Road over Bridge (RoB), sought to replace the railway level-crossing 3 at Maatu Manthai.
Taken up at a cost of `47 crore, the flyover promised to provide convenient access for residents of Tiruvottriyur and other nearby areas, without leaving them stranded due to frequent train movements. But their wait turned to agony as the project was delayed for many years. “The railways need to finish their portion, applying wearing coat on the stretch directly above the track and raising protective walls on both sides,” a senior highways official said. “If railways finish their work at the earliest, our target (June 10) could be met,” he added.
Similarly, officials say the two-lane flyover (on both sides) at the busy Arcot Road-Mount Poonamallee Road junction at Porur is almost complete. It is a 475-metre-long and 17.2-metre-wide structure constructed at a cost of `54 crore.