CHENNAI: The Rs 2.8-crore pedestrian subway connecting West and East Tambaram is nearing completion and is likely to be made operational in a few months.The Southern Railway is constructing the subway to connect the Grand Southern Trunk Road with Velachery Main Road to create a safe access to pedestrians, denied to them since the completion of the Rs 78-crore road overbridge in 2011. After the completion of bridge, the railway-level crossing was closed down.
Though a limited use subway for vehicles was built much earlier, pedestrians found it difficult to reach the Velachery Main Road and Grand Southern Trunk Road and many risked walking across the railway lines. Fatal accidents of pedestrians after being hit by trains were not uncommon. Following demands from residents, the Railway decided to commission the subway.
Work on the subway began in the middle of 2017 and once the facility is completed, it will be a big relief to residents of both East and West Tambaram, especially hundreds of students of government-aided schools and people on their way to market.
“All bridges and subways across railway lines in Chennai have provisions for pedestrians to reach either side, but the bridge in Tambaram lacked it. This is a basic design flaw. Had a staircase been provided, there would have been no need for a subway. Nevertheless, it is certainly a welcome relief now,” said S Ramesh of East Tambaram.