The construction of the long-awaited foot overbridge at the Alandur metro station has finally begun, three years after it was opened.
According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the overbridge is likely to be ready in eight months. “We will try to finish the work as soon as possible,” an official said. The construction will cost around ₹9 crore, he said.
Though the contract for the construction of the overbridge was awarded in January itself, the work has started only now.
The Chennai Metro Rail had planned to carry out the work way back in 2016, but in November that year, when tenders were called, there were hardly any takers. This forced the CMRL to call for tenders again in 2017.
The Alandur Metro Rail station, which was opened in June 2015 as part of the stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur, is the largest elevated station located on GST Road. Everyday, about 10,000 travel through it and several commuters have constantly complained of how they struggled to cross this arterial road without a foot overbridge.
Though there is a subway a few hundred metres from the station, most commuters either don’t know of the facility or find it difficult to walk from the station to the subway.
At present, Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar are the two Metro Rail stations that have foot overbridges.
Published - May 23, 2018 01:15 am IST
