TIRUCHY : The corporation has begun work to widen the approach roads to the 157-year old railway bridge near Maris theatre in the city. The project to demolish the British-era bridge, which has developed cracks and struggles to handle the city's traffic, is, however, yet to fully take off as officials said the railway was yet to come overboard. The joint project with a 50-50 cost sharing model between the state and the Union government was taken up last year. Even though the corporation began its share of the work last Wednesday, the pace of the project has drawn criticism from residents.
"The state government sanctioned Rs 34.10 crore for the project in November. We have started work to widen the approach roads and build a new retaining wall. We, however, cannot demolish the existing bridge as the design and construction of the new one has to be undertaken by the railway. We don't know when it will begin work," a senior corporation official said. Locals, who have been affected by the delay, have raised concerns over the railways' approach and the safety of the old bridge. "Why does the railway take a sit-and-watch approach? After all, it is a joint project. When one party (the state government or the corporation) starts work, the other party (the centre or the railway) has to commence work, too. It seems that this project is caught in a central-state tug of war, and the railway is in a fix," said N Gnanasundaram, a commuter.
"Who would take the blame if the bridge collapsed? It is sad that the project is affected by poor coordination. The railway should at least put up a notice on the bridge informing residents about its safety. They should also announce when they will demolish the bridge. It is unclear why railway officials are keeping mum," said A Rajeshwari, a resident. Sources, however, said the matter is under consideration of the railway top brass, and that efforts are under way to commence work at the earliest.