Chennai: The Mint flyover in North Chennai nears completion and is likely to be thrown open to the public by the end of this year. The bridge is a dream come true for motorists and residents for it will ease traffic in the core area of north Chennai, said a Chennai corporation official.

 

The new structure, taken up at a cost of Rs 23 crore, measures 605 m in length with a width of 16.60 m. The proposal for a new bridge was mooted in 2007 and the preliminary works started in October 2009, recalls an engineer who was associated with the bridgework. It took more than two years for Chennai metro water to shift the underground pipelines in the site and for the Corporation to clear the encroachments and shops to pave the way for the structure. Besides bureaucracy, the structure also faced  litigation. Now, less than five per cent of work is pending.

 

According to Ripon Buildings sources, the old parts of Madras, including Mint, Wash­ermanpet and Royap­uram, known for their heritage buildings and congestion, will benefit from the new flyover.

 

 “The project, connecting Old Jail Road and Basin Bridge Road, will be a boon for local residents and I am eagerly waiting for the inauguration of the bridge,” says senior citizen G.V Alwar Naidu, who resides in Tondiarpet.

 

The corporation had obtained the state government’s approval for executing the project in August 2009. “Hundreds of heavy vehicles ply via Mint junction and if the new bridge is completed motorists will have some respite,” says K Bharathi, a private school teacher.