Harrowing time for residents, motorists as work on flyover across rail track at Minjur unfinished

Two years ago, when the construction of the flyover across railway tracks on Minjur-Kattur road finally took off, motorists heaved a sigh of relief, happy that they would soon be able to cross the tracks without having to wait for the railway gates to open on both sides of the road. 

However, much to their disappointment, the construction did not happen at the pace they had expected. The work on erecting the six pillars alone took two years to complete. Now, the residents of the locality recently learnt to their dismay that the construction has been temporarily abandoned, prolonging their wait behind the railway gates further.

Minjur-Kattur road is the main route for residents of villages such as Neidhavayal, Kalpakkam, Vayalur, Kokkumedu, Thiruvellaivayal, Uranambedu, Thanthaimanji, Kadapakkam and Kattur to reach Minjur. Thus, the road is filled with two and four-wheelers, buses and trucks, all jostling for space with one another.

“As several express trains and suburban trains pass through Minjur, the railway tracks remain closed for long hours, which results in long queue of vehicles at both ends of the track. When the gates open, it would lead to a traffic chaos and even gatekeepers find it difficult to close the gates in time due to the steady flow of vehicles,” said Rajendran, one of the residents.

This leaves people stuck even during emergency situations, he said, adding: “Delaying the flyover in an important road like this is unfair.” 

Mahesh, a motorist from Kattur who comes to Minjur for work every day, said that he gets late to reach his workplace because of the congestion at Minjur railway gate during the peak traffic hours.

It was after much persuasion by the residents that the government had decided to build the flyover. The State Highways department was allocated Rs 30 crore, while Railways also decided to give its share of Rs 15 crore.  

While no proper response was forthcoming from Railways officials on why the work on the flyover was delayed, officials from Highways said that it was Railways who has to hand over the project to them after erecting all the pillars.

The Highways would be able to start work on placing the girders and lay the road only after that, said an official. “We have procured the girders and the work would resume in the coming months,” he assured.