Ganesha Point flyover opens for trial run

The flyover built near Ganesha Point in front of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) complex near Tiruverumbur on Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway (NH 83) has been opened for a trial run by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The flyover built near Ganesha Point in front of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) complex near Tiruverumbur on Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway (NH 83) has been opened for a trial run by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Traffic has been allowed on the road overbridge over the past few days on trial basis. “The trial run will go on for about a week or so. After this, we will restrict or divert traffic depending on requirements to complete some finishing works, including painting road markings, erection of street lights etc. Once these works are completed, the bridge will be opened in a full-fledged manner,” sources in the NHAI told The Hindu.

The flyover has been built at a cost of nearly ₹50 crore and some BHEL land was transferred for the purpose. BHEL authorities translocated some fully grown trees from the roadside to interior parts of its campus to facilitate the construction of the road overbridge.

The highway caters to a huge volume of traffic and a large number of BHEL employees have to criss-cross the highway for their commute to work every day as it runs across the BHEL industrial complex and township.

The opening of the bridge would come as a huge relief for residents of Tiruverumbur and Thuvakudi, especially employees of BHEL. The bridge was sanctioned following persistent demands from the public in view of frequent accidents around Ganesha Point Roundabout.

The traffic island, built after the widening of Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway by NHAI several years ago, was widely perceived to be too big, and vehicles traversing at high speed often met with accidents while negotiating the sharp curves. With quite a few incidents of vehicles capsizing while negotiating the roundabout a few years ago, calls to construct a flyover at the spot grew shriller.

Although work on building drains and service lanes along the road overbridge began in 2020, the project made slow progress. The work had to be suspended for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Work resumed on the project early last year.