Chennai's Radha Nagar subway 90% complete, to open in September

CHENNAI: After years of waiting, commuters along the congested Radha Nagar-GST Road stretch can expect relief soon, with the long-pending railway subway at LC-27 in Chromepet set to open in the first week of September. The level crossing at Radha Nagar, used daily by over one lakh commuters, has been a traffic choke point for decades. Each time the gates close, vehicles are seen parked nose to tail on Radha Nagar Main Road and GST Road, causing long delays and accidents. The new subway, officials said, is designed to ease congestion along the busy corridor and provide seamless access to Chromepet railway station. Officials said nearly 90% of the work on the 250-metre-long, seven-metre-wide subway has been completed. A three-metre-wide pedestrian pathway is also being laid to enable direct entry to Chromepet railway station and ticket counters from both sides. Buses will be able to drop passengers near the platform, allowing them to walk straight into the station. Following public demand, the subway is being made suitable for two-way traffic. For this, an additional 70-metre stretch of railway land has been acquired, while the GST Road bus stand is being shifted five metres closer to the platform to create space for four-wheelers, officials explained. The project, first launched in 2010, had remained stalled for nearly a decade. Following a petition by MLA I Karunanidhi, the court ordered its resumption, and a Rs 17-crore tender was floated in 2019. Work, however, moved at a snails pace until 2021, when the DMK government revived the project and expedited the construction. Pallavaram MLA I Karunanidhi inspected the site earlier this week along with officials from the Railways, state highways department, and the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation (TCMC). Authorities assured that the remaining work will be completed within two weeks. This subway has been a demand of Radha Nagar residents for more than a decade. We are glad that the project will finally be a reality, said N Ashokan, a resident of Radha Nagar.