Crawling under delayed flyover

CHENNAI: It has been almost four years since the construction of the Pallavaram bridge began. While initially, residents of this locality rejoiced upon this news, they are now struggling to make peace with the half-done project that is running behind schedule. “My workplace at Guindy is only 13 km from my home in Chromepet. But, I prefer to take a bus to the Chromepet suburban station and then take a train to Guindy rather than going by my bike, only because of the traffic congestion at Pallavaram due to the ongoing flyover work. Ever since work began in 2015, it has become a nightmare to travel along the stretch,” said R Srikanth, a regular commuter. 

In a bid to ease traffic along three junctions including Alstom signal, Pallavaram Sandai Road and Kundrathur Road, the State Highways Department began the construction of the three-lane unidirectional Pallavaram flyover on Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road in September 2015, at a cost of nearly `69 crore. 

The vehicles travelling towards Tambaram from the airport have been diverted towards the narrow Old Trunk Road where traffic moves at a snail’s pace. 
The deadline for the project was July 2018. Eight months  on, vehicles still struggle to navigate the narrow road as the flyover lies unfinished and the cost has escalated to `82 crore. 
According to official data, every day more than two lakh vehicles use the GST Road, of which 15,000 users cross the stretch where the flyover work is under way.

“Vehicles get choked on the Old Trunk Road as the Pallavaram bus stop is located right after the narrow path. So, if a bus stops, the whole traffic comes to a halt. On Fridays, the situation is worse as many come for the Pallavaram weekly market,” said Divya Simon, a resident of Tambaram.

Also, as a movie theatre is located in the vicinity, the U-turn for motorists travelling towards Alandur from the theatre is located right before the diversion. Vehicles make a beeline during peak showtimes. “As numerous restaurants, jewellery and clothing stores are located on either side of the road, parking encroachment further narrows the stretch, increasing the risk of accidents,” said R Bhagavanidhi, a resident of Chromepet.

When contacted, an official from the State Highways Department said the initial delay was due to sand crunch and that the work has now picked pace. “The flyover work will be completed latest by August 2019. Later, we will begin the work on the road and drains,” he said.