After over a decade, work to construct the rail overbridge (ROB) at Veppampattu has recently resumed with the contractor conducting the bhumi puja. It was held before the model code of conduct kicked in. The contractor has begun clearing the site.
Sources in the highways department said that since work on one side could not be taken up due to a stay, they constructed on the other side. The legal battle took some years to resolve and only last year the way was cleared. Then a fresh design and estimate were drawn up since the new structure is to be integrated with the old one and costs of materials and labour would have gone up manifold. Technology has changed too, the official added.
The government had sanctioned ₹29 crore in 2011 for the 1,045-metre-long ROB, which includes 32.40 m of railway portion, which will replace level crossing 14. In February, the State government sanctioned ₹44.55 crore for the remaining work.
Around 40% of the work has been completed. The railways has also finished its portion of the work over the tracks. Both sides of the ROB have to be joined with the railway’s structure. It will take the contractor 12 months to complete the work, explained official sources.
Residents, who welcomed the resumption of work, said it would help speed up travel time and they would no longer have to wait at the Puliyamarathu gate for it to open. At present, motorists have no option but to take the RoB at Thiruninravur, which is 7 km away, or wait at the gate for at least 30 minutes to cross the railway lines.
