The long-delayed culvert work near Velachery railway station has again resumed and the Southern Railway is hopeful of finishing the project before the onset of the North-East monsoon. The project is expected to provide a link for the storm water drain network with the Pallikaranai marshland to prevent flooding in parts of Velachery and also pave way for the station service road.
Southern Railway Public Relations officer B. Guganesan said they hoped to complete the project in 2020 itself. After several delays, it was again stopped due to the North-East monsoon, as per the directions of Greater Chennai Corporation till January this year. Due to heavy rain, the work was postponed for a few months and the contractor restarted the work in March.
Mr. Guganesan said the culvert, with a width of 6 metres and a height of 2.80 metres, would have six vents for evacuating the rain water into the marshland. He said: “While three spans have been completed, work is underway for constructing the remaining three spans. It should be completed by October.”
The completion of the culvert is not only important for preventing flood but also for linking the station road constructed from Velachery to Taramani railway station. The service road running parallel to the railway tracks of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) would help ease traffic congestion on the Velachery-Taramani Link Road.
The 4-km road project to link Velachery, Perungudi and Taramani railway stations was initiated in 2009 but remained unfinished. The railway officials hope that it will be completed this year
