CHENNAI: After months of missed deadlines and mounting commuter frustration, authorities are expecting the pedestrian skywalk linking the Kilambakkam bus terminus and suburban railway station to be completed by early August, with the final 167 metres of construction now under way.
The pedestrian bridge across Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road is designed to connect the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus and the newly constructed suburban railway station. However, repeated delays have forced passengers to continue crossing the busy GST Road on foot amid fast-moving traffic to access both Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) services and mofussil buses.
A Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) official said fabrication of the foot overbridge segment spanning the railway portion is under way at a facility in Ranipet, and is expected to be completed within the next two weeks. The structure will then be transported to Kilambakkam for welding, assembly and installation. The rail-side component is being coordinated by CUMTA and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).
Work on the GST Road section is also progressing. Officials said one stretch involving a curved portion of the structure is in the final stages of completion, while the remaining section on the opposite side of GST Road is yet to be launched, leaving around 167 metres of construction pending. The railway span and the unfinished GST Road segment are being executed simultaneously to meet the revised deadline. The CUMTA official said the railway station is ready and only the foot overbridge remains to be completed.
The project had earlier come under scrutiny after the Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings and Environment (CUBE) at IIT Madras flagged concerns over design fragmentation, unauthorised execution and deviations from approved construction methodology.
The skywalk project was also delayed after private landowners challenged the acquisition of nearly one acre of land along GST Road. A stay order from the Madras High Court halted construction, forcing authorities to revise the alignment and reduce private land acquisition by almost half.