Chennai: The work on the long-pending construction of the double-decker bridge at Velachery-Vijaya Nagar junction, which was stalled due to non-availability of sand, would soon begin as the government approved the use of manufactured sand (M-sand) as an alternative recently.
Estimated at a cost of Rs 70 crore, the flyover was planned by the state highways department way back in 2013 to give a smooth passage to commuters on Velachery Main Road, Velachery Bypass Road, Taramani Link Road and GST Road.
Like all the flyovers under-construction in the city, sand crunch has crippled the work at Velachery and moreover, the work was always carried at a snail's pace from the beginning due to issues like land acquisition near Vijay Nagar junction and changing of flyover design due to Metro water pipeline near the bypass road.
“The land was acquired in 2016 at an estimated cost of Rs 110 crore and 40 per cent of the work on the flyover is completed. Now, M-sand, which is a substitute of river sand for concrete construction produced from hard granite, would be used for the construction. It is expected to be completed by September 2018”.
The delay in work has affected the road traffic on the stretch. Though traffic diversions were created to ease vehicular congestion in the area, commuters say it is a nightmare to go from Vijayanagar junction to Taramani.
Also, as the buses now take a detour to LIC Colony Road while plying from Vijay Nagar to Taramani, the 100-feet road gets choked during the peak hours and over-usage has also battered the roads.
While one flyover will start at Velachery Bypass Road and end near the Velachery MRTS station, the other will connect Taramani Link Road to the bypass road. It will go over the first one at a height of 13m at the junction. Both flyovers will have two lanes and will be unidirectional. The work Is being done in two phases. Work on the Velachery bypass road to MRTS started in December 2015 and the other has started this year.
