Chennai: Porur flyover thrown open, at last

Chennai: After several years of delay and cost escalation of the project, the Porur flyover which is the gateway to Tiruvallur, Tirupati and Vellore, was formally thrown open to the public on Sunday.

The flyover promises seamless travel to Poonamalle and beyond. Though Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami inaugurated the flyover on Sunday, people had forcibly thrown it open to ease a traffic jam in the area when heavy rains had lashed Chennai last Monday.

Motorists had ‘inaugurated’ the flyover when they opened it for vehicular traffic, prompting police to heavily barricade the entrances of the flyover then. However, following the protest, police had heavily barricaded the area and only opened it to the public on Sunday after safety inspection rides.

The flyover, which missed several deadlines and saw a huge cost escalation, will ease traffic in Porur from three different directions – those travelling from Guindy, Vadapalani and from Kundrathur.

Initiated at an estimated project cost of Rs 15 crore during the 2006-2011 DMK regime, work on the flyover came to a standstill in mid-2011 after the AIADMK Government led by late J Jayalalithaa came to power till it was revived in 2015 after the worst-ever floods hit the metropolis. After several delays, it cost the Government Rs 54 crore in total to build the flyover.

In the past seven years since work on the project began, crossing the Porur signal, where the flyover has now come up, was a commuters' nightmare since it would take even an hour during peak hours to get across. Though inter-city buses from Vellore, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Tiruvallur, Tiruttani, Hosur, Krishnagiri and Kancheepuram were diverted to the Poonamalle high road, traffic near Porur signal did not ease, causing severe inconvenience to the commuters.

The completion of the multi-crore project is good news for all the motorists passing through Porur intersection.  "This will ease traffic for passengers travelling from several areas. With the monsoon approaching, it is the perfect time to open the flyover because there were a lot of hassles initially with mortar and mud dripping from the half constructed flyover and puddles and potholes on the roads," said R. Allen, a regular commuter.

Officials from the Highways department told Deccan Chronicle that the cost escalated to Rs 53 crore due to delays caused by the layout, problems in land acquisition, traffic diversions and shifting telecom cables. The bridge runs to a length of 505 metres and is 17.2 meters wide.

Though the right-turn from Porur signal connecting Vadapalani and Arcot Road was opened after seven years, SRMC police station signal situated 500 metres away has now been blocked. Residents of the area rue that it is getting difficult to reach their homes. "To reach Arcot road, most of the commuters use this route. Moreover, there are schools and medical institutions nearby. The residents have to take a long turn to reach the place now," said Senthil Kumar.

When questioned about it, a traffic policeman said, "If we open the signal, it will have more commuters than in Porur signal which will eventually block the flyover. We did not want that to happen on the first day."