CHENNAI: Coming as a huge relief for pedestrians, a skywalk-cum-foot overbridge (FOB) that connects the MTC and SETC bus stands on Grand Southern Trunk (GST) road to Tambaram railway station had been opened. The 11m wide FOB will enable people move between the railway stations and bus stands without having to cross the GST road. The state highways completed the final arm of the skywalk that connects the FOB on GST road to the existing foot overbridge at Tambaram railway station recently.
The skywalk has effectively brought down the vehicular pile-up during peak hours on GST road. Every day, approximately 85,000 commuters traverse through the 45-m wide GST road. The railways also opened a new ticket counter on the skywalk.
To improve pedestrian safety, a 240-m long skywalk-cum-FOB was proposed in 2015. This came in response to the series of accidents at Tambaram junction. The GST road handles 1.75 lakh vehicles a day.
The skywalk-cum-FOB was planned, with six escalators and a ticket counter at the entrance of the station.
The civil works commenced in August 2017 and FOB on GST road was completed in 2020, subsequently made accessible to the public. However, the construction of the skywalk connecting the FOB on GST road with the existing FOB at the railway station faced delays due to issues in acquiring land from the railways. The state highways spent Rs 20 crore on the project.
According to S Kesavan, a Tambaram resident, the GST road often gets congested in the evening when omnibuses pass through the junction. “The newly installed ticket counter has been beneficial for many pedestrians crossing the road. However, the usage of the FOB will only improve if the escalators and lifts are in proper working condition,” he said.
A traffic police officer said, “Congestion during peak hours has significantly reduced. However, people often attempt to cross the road when the escalators are not functioning properly.”