Stephenson Road bridge construction to be completed soon; opening in June end
As many as one lakh people will be benefitted from the bridge and will ease the traffic congestion in the area.
Stephenson Road bridge
CHENNAI: Almost 95 per cent of the work has been completed in the ongoing construction of a bridge in Stephenson Road, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, which is expected to be open to the public by the end of June. However, as the bridge has been used by vehicles before the inauguration, the local body claims that it is opened to control traffic due to the birth centenary celebration meeting of former chief minister M Karunanidhi held in the area on Wednesday.
“The old bridge in Stephenson Road across the canal was demolished and the construction of the new bridge commenced at an estimated cost of Rs 43.46 crore. The bridge is about 282 meters long and 22.70 meters wide. Only a few works such as center median and top coating are pending at present, also the top coating will be done two days in advance of inauguration otherwise it would be damaged,” said a senior official of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zone (zone 6).
As many as one lakh people will be benefitted from the bridge and will ease the traffic congestion in the area. Especially people from Perambur, Otteri, Pulainthope, and Cooks road where commuters are forced to take long routes. If the construction work of the Elephant Gate Bridge is completed, people from North Chennai will be more benefited.
In addition, to prevent water logging during the monsoon season in the area, the civic body is constructing storm water drains. “Currently, a drain has been constructed that links the Otteri Nullah canal, and another storm water drain is expected to be built on Ambedkar College Road. The tender process is yet to begin. Also, a pumping station is to be set up in the locality soon,” said the official.
People of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar urge the civic body to open the bridge for public use which will ease the traffic and speed up vehicles coming from Perambur towards Pulianthope.
“We are skeptical if it is going to serve its purpose of making the commute towards MGR Central Railway Station given the bottlenecks and road encroachments on Perambur Barracks Road and Pulianthope High Road. The road encroachments must be cleared and proper footpaths should be provided for the exclusive use of the pedestrian,” said C Raghukumar, a resident of Perambur.
While the construction work is ongoing and it is yet to be inaugurated, people utilize the bridge and it has not been blocked by the civic body. The zonal officer stated, "Due to the meeting the traffic police requested to open the bridge to ease the traffic congestion for the day. But it was allowed only till the parking lot of the venue."