Without affecting the roadside apartments and the commercial complexes, the Madurai Division of the Southern Railway has decided to construct a two-lane rail overbridge (ROB) at Kulavanigarpuram instead of the planned four-lane ROB and also a rail underbridge (RUB) at this busy manned level crossing.
Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Rastogi told reporters after inspecting this point along with Rajya Sabha MP Vijila Sathyananth on Saturday.
After then Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid the foundation stone for constructing the ‘Y’ shaped four-lane ROB over the busy Kulavanigarpuram manned level crossing in 2008 on an outlay of Rs. 25.50 crore, residents having their houses and apartments and the owners of the commercial establishments located nearby approached the court and obtained an interim stay for the project as their dwellings and their livelihood were about to be demolished for the construction of the bridge.
Though the Department of Highways made an appeal against this stay in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, the legal impediments delayed the much-awaited project, which is expected to ease traffic snarl caused by the frequent closures of the level crossing.
As Ms. Vijila appealed to Mr. Rastogi recently to visit this point once to find out an effective alternative plan, the DRM inspected this spot on Saturday along with his senior colleagues.
Mr. Rastogi said the construction four-lane ROB required land on both sides of the proposed structure. Since the acquisition of land would affect the commercial establishments and a good number of houses nearby, an alternative proposal for constructing a two-lane ROB and a RUB at this point had been evolved.
“While the heavy vehicles can use the ROB, the smaller vehicles and the two-wheelers will use the RUB. Since the new proposal will not affect the commercial establishments or the residences nearby, officials from the Departments of Railways and Highways will design the new project and submit it for approval and subsequent allocation of funds,” said Mr. Rastogi.
