Chennai: The 2.3-km-long flyover at Medavakkam on Velacheri-Tambaram Main Road may not be completed before the deadline of September 2020, as it is said about one lakh square feet of land is yet to be acquired.
The issue came up after the High Court recently declared all land acquisition made under Tamilnadu Acquisition of Land for Harijan Welfare Scheme Act, 1978, and Tamilnadu Highways Act, 2001, after 27 September, 2013, illegal.
The matter related to the amendment made to the Centre’s Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, by inserting a new section, 105 A.
Sources said the work will be completed only after about one lakh square feet of land is acquired.
The process was halted for more than six months and resumed only recently.
Nearly 50 per cent of 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 its progress, as the previous contractor abandoned the work mid-way. Following this, the contract was awarded to a new person.
Of the 81 pillars 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.
The widening of the Tambaram-Velacheri Road near Pallikaranai was also taken up and completed recently. 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, with only 500 metres of road expansion completed.
Recently, vehicles on Medavakkam Koot Road were diverted which also led to reduction in traffic snarls. This stretch acts as the junction to connect the road leading to St Thomas Mount via Madipakkam.
The 2.3-km bridge, once completed, will allow traffic to cross three junctions: Sholinganallur-Medavakkam, Medavakkam-Mambakkam and Madipakkam.
The width of the bridge is 24 metre while the service road will be 7.5 metre on both sides. A total of 36 months was the time-frame earlier set for its completion.