Pachalam overbridge to be up in six months.

The harrowing wait for Pachalam overbridge could over by year-end.

The foundation stone for Pachalam Road overbridge will be laid on 4th March, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is scheduled to complete the bridge within six months of the land being handed over to it.

Union Minister of State K.V. Thomas will be the chief guest at the stone-laying ceremony where DMRC's Principal Advisor E Sreedharan too will be present.

The Rs. 52-crore two-lane bridge will have a footpath on one side. The cost includes compensation for 46 cents of land that will be acquired. The railway will bear half the cost of bridge construction.

The Pachalam level crossing has a train vehicle unit (TVU) of 3,85,563 (the number of trains multiplied by the number of vehicles crossing it) as on October 2011. On an average, 103 trains pass by daily, while 4,773 vehicles, excluding two-wheelers, use the level crossing. The railway rules say a bridge has to be built when TVU exceeds 1 lakh.

THE HINDU