Chennai: After a minor hiccup in the progress of Medavakkam flyover, work has once again resumed, but it is feared that the project may not be completed on time.
Nearly 50 per cent construction work on Medavakkam flyover has been completed now. The project commenced in February 2016 at an estimated cost of Rs 146.41 crore.
Officials said there were minor hiccups in the progress of the work as the previous contractor abandoned the work mid-way.
“However, a new tender was floated and a new contractor has been roped in now. Work has resumed and is happening on a war-footing. Initially, we wanted to complete the project in the first few months of 2019; however, now we are targetting to finish the work before the end of 2019 or early 2020,” he said.
Sources said of the 81 pillars that have to be erected on the Tambaram-Velacheri stretch, work on 76 have been completed. Similarly, work on 10 of the 31 pillars on the other side is also over. Once completed, the entire stretch will be a 10-lane road with six lanes on the bridge and four lanes on the ground.
The Pallikaranai-Medavakkam flyover is being constructed to ease traffic at the junction. For this purpose, the road was widened by 150 feet starting from Pallikaranai and only 500 metres of road expansion was completed.
The Medavakkam Koot Road acts as the junction to connect the road leading to St Thomas Mount via Madipakkam.
The traffic jams at the junction were a regular affair before construction work on the flyover began. Things got worse after construction on the flyover began and barricades were placed on the road restricting flow of traffic. The traffic signal at the junction also made it difficult for the flow of vehicles; however, now they are not in use.
A few motorists have also requested the authorities to ensure that proper reflectors are stuck on the drums placed as dividers to ensure that they are visible at night.
The 2.38-km flyover, once completed, will allow traffic to cross three junctions: Sholinganallur – Medavakkam, Medavakkam – Mambakkam and Madipakkam.
The width of the bridge is 24 m while the service road will be 7.5 m on both sides.