Work on road overbridge to replace railway level crossing near Katpadi begins

Construction of new road overbridge at Jaffrapet village near Katpadi to replace railway level crossing, easing traffic congestion.

A long-standing demand of residents will be fulfilled as construction work for a new road overbridge that would replace the existing railway level crossing (LC 55) at Jaffrapet village near Katpadi in Vellore commenced on Friday.

Officials of the State Highways said that the new bridge will be built between Latteri and Katpadi railway stations. “The new bridge will prevent motorists from waiting at the railway gate for a long time. It will also ensure uninterrupted passage for train movement,” D. Babu, Assistant Executive Engineer (ADE), State Highways (Katpadi), told The Hindu.

Accompanied by Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi, Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan laid the foundation stone for the ₹29.14 crore project. A joint initiative of the State Highways and Southern Railways, the work is expected to be completed in 2025.

The new four-lane bridge, which will be 549 metres long and 11 metres wide, will have at least 15 pillars across Palar river. It will have a tiled footpath, storm water drain, LED street lights, CCTV cameras, signages and reflectors. A 615 metre-long approach road will be laid as part of the work.

At present, vehiclesincluding ambulances and school vans have to wait at the level crossing for at least 30 minutes during rush hour . Vehicles have to take a detour of 6-8 km to reach either sides of the level crossing.

On an average, railway officials said that the railway gate is closed 130 times for smooth passage of trains. Also, around 2.98 lakh vehicles have passed through the level crossing since October 2023. “Farmers can easily transport their produce to nearby towns. The new bridge will also prevent people from crossing the tracks and running the risk of getting run over by trains,” said S. Munusamy, a farmer.

Officials said that 7,451 sq. metres of land has been acquired at a cost of ₹12.70 crore for the project since its nod in 2017-18. Track portion of the bridge work will be done by the railways whereas remaining work will be executed by State Highways. The new bridge will connect goods-laden lorries, trucks and long distance buses with Mangalore-Vellore Highway (NH 75), bypassing accident-prone Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 48) to reach southern districts.