Work on Manali-Tiruvottiyur flyover moving at a snail’s pace

The renovation of the flyover, which is located next to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on Tiruvottiyur - Ponneri - Pancheti road in Manali, began in 2016. Since then, motorists are forced to travel around eight km more to reach Tiruvottiyur and Manali.

“Earlier, there was only four km distance from Elaiyamman Koil to Manali through the flyover, and we used to cover the stretch within 15 – 20 minutes. But now, due to traffic diversion, we have to drive an extra three to four km to reach the destination. It is dangerous at nights, as there are no streetlights and there are large pits filled with water near the construction site,” said R Rajan Krishnan, a resident of Tiruvottiyur.

As the department is yet to demolish the old flyover, residents want it to be open for traffic till the construction of the new flyover is over. Had the officials kept the old structure open while working on the new flyover, the people would not have faced any difficulties, said Balasubramani Y, a resident of Tollgate.

“Lorries and other heavy vehicles do not leave space for other vehicles, making traffic congestion even worse,” he added.

Speaking to DT Next, a senior official from the Metro Wing of State Highways department said the work was being delayed due to traffic diversion in that area, which was sorted out only in July 2019.

“As there are many pipelines of CPCL, Indian Oil Corporation, and Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, it is tough to complete the work at a faster pace. We will start demolishing the old bridge soon. In August, the bridge will be completed and will be open for public in September,” the official said.