Pattabiram residents demand limited-use subway beneath ROB

Every day, pedestrians, cyclists, bullock carts, and other slow-moving traffic travelling between Thiruninravur and Pattabiram are forced to use the 780-metre-long flyover to cross to the other side.

Though one carriageway of the six-lane Rail Over Bridge (ROB) was opened to traffic in September 2024, no provision has been made for slow-moving traffic that also need to cross Level Crossing No. 2 (Railway Siding) at Pattabiram.

“The brave among them go beneath the ROB and cross the tracks. Even small load carriers prefer to pass underneath because their vehicles do not have enough power to climb the flyover. The entire area near the tracks is strewn with construction debris and overgrown with bushes, making it inaccessible to many people,” said Rajan, a resident of Pattabiram.

“Usually, ROBs are built with staircases on either side of the tracks so that at least able-bodied pedestrians can climb up to the bridge, walk across it, and then climb down on the other side,” pointed out consumer activist T. Sadagopan.

“This bridge does not have such staircases. What will a person with disabilities do if he or she wants to travel to the other side? The least that the State Highways Department, which constructed this bridge, can do is build a limited-use subway for pedestrians and small vehicles. It will also benefit employees of the adjacent Tidel Park, who commute through the area every day,” he added.

Another resident said that once the academic year begins, hundreds of schoolchildren and their parents can be seen crossing the tracks beneath the bridge. “They travel on foot. For now, the Railways has kept the gate open as one more span of the bridge is yet to be completed. But once it is eventually closed, what will these people do then?” he wondered.

The project to construct the ROB was approved by the State government in 2011, and work on the ₹78.32-crore facility began in March 2018.