Tenders have been called for the construction of seven foot over bridges (FOB) on the GST Road between Vandalur and Singaperumal Koil. Costing ₹20 crore, the FOBs will allow safe crossing of the National Highway by college students, train passengers, employees and devotees.
Official sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that all the seven facilities would have elevators and staircases on either side. The FOBs are to come up near the Iraniyamman temple, near the Vandalur and Singaperumalkoil railway stations, near a private engineering college at Thailavaram, an IT park at Thailavaram and Maraiamalai Adigal Nagar township.
“These spots were fixed after joint inspection with the police and also taking into consideration places where there is conflict between pedestrians and motorists and accidents take place. Since the road had been widened to eight lanes, pedestrian crossings are imperative,” said an official.
Contractors will have six months time to construct after the award of tenders. This is likely to be only after the general elections since it will take time to process the bids. Social activist and resident of Chromepet S. M. Govindarajan said the construction of FOBs was a welcome decision. “The road needs facilities for pedestrians at more locations, for instance, near the Saravana Stores at Chromepet, at Guduvancheri, and at Perungalathur near the Sriram City. These are also locations where accidents happen in large numbers,” he said.
