Radha Nagar subway in Chromepet finally opened

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday inaugurated the limited–use vehicular subway at Radha Nagar in Chromepet, constructed at a cost of ₹31.62 crore. The subway was constructed in lieu of level crossing 27 and will benefit residents of Radha Nagar, Zameen Pallavaram, Postal Nagar, Nemilichery, Nanmangalam and Medavakkam. Minister for MSME T.M. Anbarasan and MLAs E. Karunanidhi, S.R. Raja and Chenalpattu district Collector D. Sneha were also present on the occasion.

The facility was planned way back in 2006, and the foundation stone too was laid, as a pedestrian-only facility to enable residents of East Chromepet to access the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road. The original project amount was ₹17.65 crore. However, the Highways department took the call to convert it to a limited-use subway, acceding to the demands of one section of residents of Radha Nagar Main Road, a thickly populated market area in 2016.

Activist V. Santhanam said that many meetings of residents, local body representatives, successive MLAs and officials took place over the years. “We held many protests urging the government to finish the project. We kept pushing for its completion. By 2012, the railways had completed their work to construct the structure under the tracks. It has taken so many years to complete an important infrastructure project. The gate will however remain open for bigger vehicles to cross,” he noted.

The total length of the subway is 329mt and the width is 5.5mt. Separate service bridges have been constructed on the GST Road side and Radha Nagar side to facilitate easy access to Chromepet railway station. Staircases have been provided to access Radha Nagar and the GST Road side from the railway station. Height gauges have been installed on both sides of the subway to prevent heavy vehicles from entering it. LED lights have been installed on both sides of the retaining wall of the subway.