The four-lane flyover built at Kalavasal junction on Bypass Road in Madurai was inaugurated by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami via video-conferencing on Monday.
District Collector T.G. Vinay and Madurai Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan were present during the event.
Kalavasal junction, where the Madurai-Theni highway and the Madurai-Dindigul Bypass Road meet, is one of the busiest junctions in the city. The Collector said the construction of the flyover would help to reduce the congestion at the junction by around 60%.
The flyover, built at a cost of ₹54.07 crore, flyover runs for a distance of around 750 metres on Bypass Road. It has a carriageway of 7.5 metres on either side and allows for a two-way traffic.
An official from the Highways Department said lamp posts would be erected on top of the flyover within the next two weeks. “Currently, there are road studs which will illuminate in the dark and help in the movement of vehicles,” he said.
The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the flyover on July 15, 2018. Though the project was scheduled to be completed within 15 months, it was delayed, causing severe hardship for the road users.
A traffic police at the junction said that all heavy vehicles, especially buses, travelling towards southern districts can use the flyover directly, reducing the traffic congestion at the signal. “This will help reduce the waiting time of vehicles plying on Madurai-Theni highway to an extent,” he said.
V. Logeswaran, an autorickshaw driver, said a flyover should be constructed from P.P. Chavadi to Arasaradi on the Madurai-Theni highway too.
