Chennai: Padappai flyover opens to public after a 5-year wait

CHENNAI: After years of bureaucratic apathy and infrastructure hurdles had stalled the completion of the 700-metre-long flyover in the Oragadam-Sipcot industrial area, the Padappai flyover was inaugurated for the public on Friday.

Motorists on the Vandalur-Walajabad Road have been waiting for the flyover for the last five years as the construction work had been pending for a long time.

The 34-km-long Vandalur-Walajabad Road is famous for the industrial corridor, educational institutions, and private factories with more than 70,000 vehicles criss-crossing the stretch every day. So, in 2019, the State Highways department decided to construct a flyover at the Padappai junction for 700 metres at an estimated cost of 189.81 crore.

The construction work was supposed to be completed within 18 months but was delayed due to COVID-19 in 2020. Within a year, there was a change in regime in 2021, which further delayed the project. The cost increased to Rs 205.64 crore but officials said that it would be completed in 2023. But, as is the case with any government project, the work went on at a snail’s pace for two more years.

On Friday, the long wait was over. The flyover is expected to ease the traffic on the Vandalur-Walajabad stretch. Container lorries from the Harbour and airports are expected to reach the factories in Oragadam and Sriperumbudur quicker.

During the inauguration, Minister EV Velu said, “We had promised the public a few months ago that the flyover would be inaugurated by July this year but it was inaugurated a month early.”