The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has resumed construction of the proposed flyover near Ganesha Point in front of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) complex near Tiruverumbur on Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway.
The new bridge was sanctioned following persistent demands from the public in view of frequent accidents around Ganesha Point Roundabout, which was considered too big.
Work has resumed on the construction of service lanes, which are to be built on either sides of the highway, ahead of the commencement of construction of the road over bridge.
Once the service lanes are built, traffic would be diverted through them to facilitate construction of the bridge, NHAI sources said. Although the work on building drains and services had begun in 2020 it remained suspended for the past several months.
“The work resumed about 15 days ago and the flyover, running for about a km, will be completed within a year,” a NHAI official said.
While the highway caters to a huge volume of traffic, a large number of BHEL employees cross the highway at the point for their commute to work every day as it runs through the industrial complex and township.The roundabout was built after widening of Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway by NHAI some years ago. With many vehicles capsising while negotiating the sharp curves around the roundabout, calls turned shrill to construct a flyover at the spot and remove the roundabout or reduce its size.
The flyover is to be built at a cost of nearly ₹50 crore and some BHEL land has been acquired for the purpose. BHEL had already translocated some fully grown trees from the roadside to interior parts of its campus.
According to the sources, the service lanes are expected to the completed within a fortnight or so after which the construction of the main bridge structure will get underway in full swing.