Commuters face hardship as change in contractor delays Medavakkam flyover work

According to sources in the Highways Department, though the work was scheduled to be completed by September 2017, till now only 40% of the work was completed. The construction work of Medavakkam flyover began in Feburary 2016 with the allocation of Rs 146.5 crore for the project.

Sources said that more than 60,000 vehicles ply on the Velachery- Tambaram Road since it connects East Coast Road (ECR) with the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). Many schools, colleges and residential quarters also located along the stretch.

After the completion, the bridge is expected to allow traffic in three directions, Medavakkam- Mambakkam, Sholinganallur-Medavakkam and Mount-Medavakkam.

“We are eagerly waiting for the flyover to be opened, since it will make our travel easier, but it is sad that not even half of the total work has been completed in past three years,” said John Rajan, a regular commuter.

Commuters travelling on the road have been suffering for the past few years due to flyover construction and the delay in execution.

According to sources, the original bidder for the project was replaced by a new one in 2018 by the highways department as they failed to complete their work on time.

A senior engineer of the Highways Department, on condition of anonymity, said, “We have replaced the contractor due to internal issues. The project’s total cost has been recently re-estimated to Rs 250 crore from Rs 146.5 crore and work will be completed soon,” the engineer said. He added that the flyover is expected to be inaugurated before the end of the year.