Highways Department to remove footpaths on Anna Salai to construct flyover from Saidapet to Teynampet- NSP NEWS

The Highways Department will remove portions of the footpath on Anna Salai to create traffic diversions for the construction of the 3.2-km elevated corridor from Saidapet to Teynampet.

The removal of the footpaths will help increase the width of the carriageway at points where lanes on either side of the median will be barricaded. Around 8 m of width of the carriageway will be blocked off during construction.

“We have already started removing the granite slabs from the footpath opposite the YMCA. The location does not get much pedestrian traffic. Around 600 m of slabs and earthen filling have been removed. If the surface of the concrete drain below can withstand the traffic, we will leave it as it is. Cables, if any, will also be moved,” an official in the department said. The slabs have been stored and will be re-laid after the work is completed.

However, the department will not disturb the footpaths in Saidapet where the corridor takes off. “A huge number of pedestrians use the footpaths in that area. Their safety is priority. We will try not to disturb pavements in places with heavy pedestrian footfall,” the official said.

CIT Nagar is another location where the footpath will be removed. “We will be gaining around 3 m to 4 m of carriageway in this manner. A bituminous layer will be laid if necessary.”

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had laid the foundation stone in January for the four-lane corridor that will allow motorists to cross seven traffic junctions at Eldams Road, SIET College, Cenotaph Road, Nandanam, CIT Nagar Third and First Main Roads, and Todd Hunter Nagar-Jones Road.