NHAI seeks 2.5 acres of land from Railways for construction of underpass at G.Corner

Construction of an underpass at the G. Corner has been a long-pending demand of the residents of the Golden Rock area in Tiruchi.
| Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sought about 2.5 acres of land from the Indian Railways for constructing a vehicular underpass across the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass at G. Corner in the city.

Construction of anunderpass across the bypass, which forms part of the busy Chennai-Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway, has been a long-pending demand from the public. The Tiruchi Member of Parliament Durai Vaiko had given a push for the project by conducting a joint inspection of the site with senior officials of the Railways and NHAI in January.

He had subsequently called on the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and urged him to sanction the underpass at the earliest. The Minister, Mr. Durai Vaiko said, had responded positively to the request.

Subsequently, the NHAI officials after conducting a survey had sought about 2.5 acres of land from the Railways on either side of the highway for the construction of the underpass.

“We have conveyed the requirement to the Railways. Once the land is allotted, we will take forward the proposal to build the vehicular underpass,” a senior official NHAI told The Hindu.

Mr. Durai Vaiko told The Hindu that following the submission of the requirement by the NHAI, he has requested the railway authorities to expedite land transfer. “The detailed project report for the underpass is likely to be ready by mid-June,” he said.

Ever since the widening of the highway into four lanes, residents of Golden Rock and beyond and employees of the Golden Rock Railway Workshop, have been demanding the construction of an underpass to provide direct access to the workshop.

With the widening of the road into a four-lane highway, bypass was rendered out of bounds for the residents who have to take a 2-km detour to reach Senthaneerpuram, which is across the road. The two-way service lane, which now serves as the access route for the Golden Rock area from the TVS Tollgate Junction, is narrow and accident-prone.

Initially, although the NHAI was willing to build an underpass, the Railways was not willing to provide land. Negotiations between the NHAI and Railways held in 2012 did not lead to any tangible result. The NHAI had then sought 3,000 square metres of railway land and ₹1 crore from the Railways. At one stage, the railway authorities came forward to provide the land, but the issue of sanction of funds was not addressed.

However, with the Railways and NHAI officials agreeing to pursue the proposal now, the project is expected to take off once the land alienation is completed.