New foot-overbridges to have lifts

Four new foot-overbridges will be constructed and provided with escalators and lifts in the city. Chennai Corporation has identified the places with the help of the city police and will soon construct the bridges. “We have planned to install two lifts on either side of the bridge, so that people who don’t like escalators can use the lifts,” says Chennai Corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni. In the second phase, 10 more such foot-overbridges will be constructed for which the places have already been identified. The construction of the foot-overbridges, which costs Rs 8 crore, would begin in a couple of months and will be completed within six months. Earlier, advertisement agencies and companies could place hoarding on the entire bridge on both its sides. But after the Supreme Court order, it was decided to remove the hoardings, corporation sources said. The corporation has decided to bear expenses for constructing the new foot-overbridges. This decision was taken at a high-level meeting at the Secretariat a few months ago. The city police and corporation officials have conducted a survey among the public with the help of non-governmental organisations and volunteers to identify places, where pedestrians need foot over-bridges the most. “We identified 10 places, which need the bridges fitted with escalators and lifts. The list of identified places was submitted to officials. Similarly, the corporation officials also submitted four places identified by them. Finally, it was decided to construct the foot-overbridges near Raj Bhavan, Nandanam, TVS bus stop on Anna Salai and at Central Railway Station,” a senior police officer said. “In the first week of October, we will float tenders to construct the bridges. Already funds for the work have been allotted by the government,” Lakhoni said. The new bridges would be wider than the existing ones and the height has been fixed in accordance with road safety rules. The height of the platform will be 5.5 metres and even double decker buses could be driven on the road under the bridge. “Some people don’t like to use escalators and for them, we are installing lifts on the sides of the platform. The lifts will help pedestrians reach the platform after which they have to walk across it. Each side of the platform will also have escalators, one for moving up and the other down. This will, hopefully, encourage the public to use these foot overbridges,” a corporation official said. Police will issue pamphlets to the public to encourage them to use foot-overbridges. For the first few days, traffic policemen will also encourage people to cross the road using the bridges. “If this system works well and is appreciated by the public, this would be introduced in 10 more places across the city,” corporation sources said.

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