Five years on, Padappai flyover work moves at snail’s pace

CHENNAI: The under-construction flyover on Vandalur-Walajabad Road near Padappai is touted to be an integral part of the highway connecting to Kancheepuram via Oragadam. Despite its importance, the project has remained incomplete for over five years now, impacting the livelihoods along the route and causing massive traffic congestion on a daily basis.

For commuters using the Vandalur-Walajabad, navigating along the route during peak hours is an exacting task, thanks to the incomplete flyover. The uneven roads add to the difficulty of travelling through the route.

As the stretch is in the proximity to Oragadam-Sipcot industrial corridor, private factories and other educational institutions, it sees an average traffic of 70,000 vehicles per day.

The State Highways decided to erect the flyover at the Padappai junction for 700 metres to ease the lives of these commuters at an estimated Rs 189.81 crore in 2019.

Initially expected to be completed and functional in 18 months after its inception, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put a wet blanket on the process. The construction estimate was revised to Rs 205.64 crore when DMK came to power in 2021 and the deadline was set for 2023.

Now, two years after the revised deadline, only 50 per cent of the work has been completed, and peak hour traffic has only multiplied, often lasting a kilometre of the stretch. A commuter noted that crossing the one-kilometre stretch takes 25 minutes near the construction site.

Aside from the traffic, the lack of lighting and reflectors at the construction site in the dark hours is a matter of nightmare for motorists, rued S Dinesh, a regular commuter.

The more delayed the construction, the narrower the roads become to accommodate traffic. The issue is aggravated when heavy vehicles come into the mix, making navigating through the road in peak hours impossible.

State highway sources say that a few electric poles need to be moved, and they have requested the TNEB to complete the work soon. They attribute the primary reason for the delay in construction to the COVID-19 lockdown but assure that the work is in full swing now and will be completed soon.