New bridge near Fort Station expected to be completed by December 2025

Construction of new road overbridge near Fort Railway Station in Tiruchi expected to be completed by December 2025.

Construction of the new road overbridge (ROB) near the Fort Railway Station in Tiruchi is expected to be completed only by December 2025.

The new ROB is being built jointly by the railways and the Tiruchi Corporation. While the railways will build the structure on its portion (above the railway lines on the Tiruchi-Karur section), the Corporation will build the approach roads on either sides at a cost of ₹34.10 crore.

Collector M.Pradeep Kumar convened a meeting with senior officials of various government agencies last week in an attempt to expedite the progress of works on this and the ROB coming up near Railway Junction in the city.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Pradeep Kumar said that construction of the Railways was expected to take about nine months. However, they have been requested to complete the work within six months – by June. Once the railway portion of the bridge is built, it would take about four to six months for the Corporation to complete the bridge. “We hope to complete the bridge in about 12 months, by December next year,” he said.

The Collector had convened the meeting after members of the District Road Safety Council had raised concerns at the council’s previous meeting over the slow pace of the work and wanted the project to be expedited.

With the arterial road linking the Salai Road and the Main Guard Gate area, the city’s main commercial hub, remaining closed for traffic since March to facilitate the reconstruction of the old British-built bridge, motorists and bus operators are peeved over the rather sluggish pace of work.

Tiruchi District Bus Operators Association secretary D.R. Dharmaraj, who was among those who raised the issue at the council, said he had urged the authorities to complete the work in a time-bound manner.