CHENNAI: The construction of the two-lane road over bridge (ROB) at Elephant Gate which would be the entryway to northern parts of the city will be ready by March end. “Once operational, the reconstructed ROB will not only alleviate vehicular congestion faced by North Chennai residents, but also reduce the halt time of trains between Basin Bridge and the Chennai Central and suburban stations,” said an official.
The ROB was built in 1933 at the central station exit, linking the Basin Bridge coaching depot on the right and the Salt Cotaurs goods yard on the left. It facilitated the passage of eight railway lines below connecting the central and Basin Bridge stations. It was demolished in April 2020 for reconstruction.
“The earlier ROB was a major bottleneck for traversing trains between tracks in the central-Basin Bridge section. When the work is over, trains can move faster, and chances for expanding the central/suburban station can also be explored,” explained an official.
The old Elephant Gate ROB was closed for four-wheeler traffic in 2017, and two-wheeler movement was also restricted from November 2019. The construction of the 480-metre ROB, which commenced in August 2020, had been delayed due to round-the-clock operation of trains, and issues in shifting utilities such as cables and pipelines on approach roads.
The ROB will facilitate to and fro transportation from Wall Tax Road to Raja Muthiah Road, thereby easing vehicular movement from Purasawalkam, Egmore and other areas towards North Chennai.
Work for the railways’ portion of a 150-metre bridge is getting ready with the installation of six bowstring steel girders and the positioning of three spans on each side. The remaining section of the bridge, including approach roads and pedestrian paths, has been constructed by the Greater Chennai Corporation at a total cost of about `30.78 crore, with the railways and GCC sharing the expenses equally.
A railway official from Chennai division said nearly 95% of the works have been completed and the ROB will be ready by the end of this month. Meanwhile, an official from GCC said, “A bituminous layer has been laid for the approach roads, and the construction of footpaths has been finished.”
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