Chief Minister inaugurates Stephenson Road bridge, major traffic bottleneck in Pulianthope goes

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday inaugurated the Stephenson Road bridge, which will improve connectivity between the central business district of George Town and areas such as Perambur, Kolathur and Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday inaugurated the Stephenson Road bridge, which will improve connectivity between the central business district of George Town and areas such as Perambur, Kolathur and Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar.

Built across the Otteri Nullah in flood-prone Pulianthope, the 282-metre long bridge was proposed in the Second Master Plan of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.

“We have increased the height of the bridge by 2 metres. The old bridge used to be flooded and connectivity lost during the monsoon. More than 70,000 vehicles are expected to use the bridge every day. Residents who take their children to school will use the bridge. The new bridge will reduce congestion during rush hour,” said an official of the Greater Chennai Corporation. 

“The development of the bridge and the wide road is expected to facilitate the construction of high-rise buildings in the area. Huge land parcels are expected to be developed and families in the commercial area of George Town will gradually shift to this locality. More than 20,000 families are expected to shift to this area from other parts of the city after the development of new buildings in this area,” said the civic official.

More than 2 lakh families in areas such as Perambur, Otteri, Pulianthope, Purasawalkam and Vepery will benefit from the bridge. Work on the ₹66.83-crore project was started on December 3, 2020 and was delayed because of the pandemic.