The Hindu 08.10.2010
Rangarajapuram flyover work delayed
Staff Reporter
| Delay attributed to slow pace of work on the railway portion of the project |
wait continues: On completion, the Rangarajapuram flyover is expected to ease traffic congestion in T.Nagar, Mambalam and Kodambakkam.
CHENNAI: The completion of the Rangarajapuram flyover is likely to take two more months and the facility is likely to be commissioned by January-end next year.
The work, which was earlier expected to be completed by next month, is getting delayed on account of the slow pace of work along the railways' portion of the project. The Southern Railway is expected to complete its portion by December.
Chennai Corporation would complete the rest of the work by January 2011, Mayor M. Subramanian said here on Thursday.
Inspecting work on the facility, he said more coordination meetings would be organised with railway officials shortly to ensure speedy completion of the project.
One of the reasons for the delay is the slow pace of concreting work in the railways portion of the bridge that includes the bowstring arch girders. The concrete work is being undertaken only for three hours in a day as it requires power block, said an official.
Therefore, the concreting work on the bowstring arch is being done during the night when trains do not ply. Work on one of the bowstring arch girders is in progress and work on the other arm would commence only on completion of the first arm. The bowstring bridge constructed by the Southern Railway over the track would span a length of 49.5 m.
A tree near a temple on the railway land that remained yet another obstruction to the construction work has been cut down by the civic body recently.
Mr.Subramanian said the ramp works are being speeded up in order to finish the portion before the heavy showers during the northeast monsoon season.
Over 95 per cent of the work on the ramp on Bazullah Road side had been completed. The work on the arm on the north side of the Railway Border Road on a 65-metre stretch is on.
Work on the ramp towards the Kodambakkam station side would start soon.
The 962-metre-long flyover, being constructed at a cost of Rs.23.76 crore, would have three arms.
The arm towards Bazullah Road is 264 metres in length and 303 metres on the Rangarajapuram side. The arm on the side of Kodambakkam railway station is 297 metres. So far, work on 26 piers and 17 deck slabs is over. The total number of deck slabs of the flyover is 25. The work order for the construction of the flyover was issued in January 2008.
