A foot-over-bridge and a T-junction come up on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

These facilities on Rajiv Gandhi Salai are new, but they have already proved to be of inestimable value to motorists and pedestrians.

A T-shaped junction and a lengthy foot-over bridge have come up on Rajiv Gandhi Salai (also known as Old Mahabalipuram Road) between the MRTS stations in Indira Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur MRTS.

The junction has been created near the Indira Nagar MRTS station by demolishing 10 metres; four signal posts have been erected.

Now, motorists coming from Thiruvanmiyur MRTS section are allowed to take a U-turn and also cross the signal to enter Indira Nagar. Motorists coming from Indira Nagar section are not allowed to cross the junction and those coming from Madhya Kailash are also not allowed to take a U-turn as the junction is narrow.

The traffic signal at the T-junction allocates a countdown of 20 seconds for motorists, in each direction, and 10 seconds for pedestrians.

“The new junction, which became operational on February 3, mainly benefits motorists coming from the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS section and proceeding towards Besant Nagar, Adyar and Greenways Road. Earlier, they had to go up to the junction near Cancer Institute and take a U turn. The T-junction has positive impact on the junctions at Tidel Park, Madhya Kailash and Cancer Institute. Thanks to this facility, a motorist can save up to 5 km. It has been over a year since started trying to create this junction. Now, with the permission and support of the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company, we have been able to accomplish this,” says N. Vinayagam, Inspector, J4 Kotturpuram Police Station.

A new landmark

The foot-over bridge stretching from the entrance of Ramanujan IT City to the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station is a spectacular new landmark on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

The elevated walkway has three arms. One of them provides access to the elevated platforms of Thiruvanmiyur MRTS; another slides down to connect to an MTC bus stop. The third arm, which lands on the platform near the Ramanujan IT City has an escalator as well as a flight of steps.

The foot-over bridge is an answer to the problem of jaywalking on this stretch. Here, pedestrians often climb over the median to cross the busy road.

C. Velan, executive director and chief executive officer of Ramnujan IT City (TRIL Infopark Ltd), says “This facility was created with the permission and support of Tamil Nadu Road Development Company and Southern Railway. Using state-of-the-art cable structure, the foot-over bridge was built by Ramanujan IT City at a cost of Rs.14 crore and it has been handed over to Tamil Nadu Road Development Company. Its maintenance will continue to remain in the hands of Ramnujan IT City. Jaywalking was rampant on this stretch and we could find pedestrians jumping over the median to cross the thoroughfare. So, considering the safety of pedestrians, we felt it was necessary to have a foot-over bridge here.”

The walkway is well-lit at night and round-the-clock security measures have been put in place.

“The foot-over bridge is quite useful. Earlier, I had to walk up to the Tidel Park intersection to reach the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station. Now, I could walk directly into the station taking this bridge and save up to 10 minutes,” says K. Archana, a commuter.

THE HINDU