Flyover soon at Pattabiram railway crossing to ease traffic

The crossing remains a bottleneck for vehicles, resulting in their pileup in the stretch between Thirunindravur to Avadi, falling under the Tiruvallur district. Since the crossing is located on the Chennai-Tirupati Highway (CTH), vehicles, including MTC buses and lorries, can move only at a snail’s pace during peak hours.

“Whenever the crossing is closed, we are forced to wait for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Even after residents and activists petitioned the district Collector, there was no any sign of any action being taken up. However, the recent announcement to construct a flyover will be a boon for motorists and the public,” said A Nagaraj, a college student, who rides a two-wheeler regularly on this stretch. 

S Mohanram, president, Thirunindravur Consumer Protection Council, said, “For a long time, we have been demanding of both the State Highways and Railway officials to take up the construction work. However, they have turned a deaf ear to all demands. Unlike in the past, the volume of vehicles in the stretch has gradually been increasing on CTH.” He added that even though the Highway officials floated a tender more than a year ago, there has been no further progress. When contacted, Mathiyazhagan, Assistant Divisional Engineer, SH, Tiruvallur, said “Works are undertaken by the Rural Road (RR) department. However, we are preparing to find alternative diversion roads, after which works will be taken.” It may be noted that K Pandiarajan, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture and Archaeology and MLA of Avadi constituency, recently visited the spot and assured that works will take off, after consulting the Railway department.