CHENNAI: As demolition of the Elephant Gate bridge is likely to start soon, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has announced that it will spend `26.45 crore for reconstruction of East and West slopes of the bridge, according to a corporation statement.
While the central part of the bridge will be reconstructed by the Southern Railway and Tangedco, extending from 50 metres to 150 metres, both slopes at two ends will be built by the Corporation.
On the Pulianthope end, the slope will be of 250 metre length and on the Walltax Road end, it will be of 180 metres length. The length of the new bridge would be 580 metres maintaining the existing breadth of 20 metres. The bridge is being expanded so that more railway tracks could be accommodated beneath it.
Earlier on Tuesday, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash inspected the bridge.
Garbage menace
TNIE had reported three times earlier about how the bridge was neglected and had become a dump yard. Following a TNIE report on July 30 on garbage being set on fire, Corporation officials took immediate action by clearing the garbage. Since then, the bridge has been maintained properly with no more garbage menace.
One week ago, demolition work of the tenements adjacent to the bridge began. Once the railway lines beneath the bridge are shifted by the Tangedco, the demolition of the bridge would begin.