Work on the second flyover at Retteri junction on the Jawaharlal Nehru Salai (Inner Ring Road) is expected to be completed by December. Of the 27 spans, 20 have been finished and work on the obligatory span over the actual junction will take another month to complete.
The ₹41.07-crore uni-directional flyover, that will allow traffic from Madhavaram to the Padi side, will be 1,320 m long — longer than the 740-m-long flyover allowing traffic in the opposite direction. “We had some design challenges, shifting of EB lines and poles that slowed us down. The changes have also lead to revision of cost and moving of deadline. It was earlier ₹29.13 crore. But now we have programmed the works to complete it by December,” said an official source.
Pedestrian traffic
Along with the flyover, a pedestrian subway too is being constructed, which is expected to be completed within a few months. “There is a huge volume of pedestrian traffic at the junction, since there are hundreds of commercial establishments on the Perambur Red Hills Road, that intersects with Jawaharlal Nehru Salai. Work beneath both flyovers has been completed. Now the connection under the road has to be done and that requires traffic diversion, which will take some time,” he said.
For residents and motorists using the Ring Road, speedy completion of the flyover is important. C. Umapathy of Perambur, who regularly visits a Parvathiamman temple at Lakshmi Puram in Kolathur, said he avoided evenings since traffic was very bad. “Muhurtham days are even worse, since there are many wedding halls in the area. It would be good if the work is completed as soon as possible,” he said.