Work to construct ₹65.98 crore ROB near Ambur commences

The State Highways has commenced work to construct a ₹65.98 crore Road Over Bridge (ROB), which will replace the existing narrow railway vent, at Reddy Thoppu village near Ambur railway station in Tirupattur on Sunday.

Officials of State Highways said that the new bridge will connect Reddy Thoppu and Ambur East near the railway station. Along with R. Krishnasamy, Chief Engineer (CE), State Highways (Projects) and K. Vathsala Vidyanandini, Superintending Engineer (SE), State Highways (Projects), A.C. Vilwanathan, Ambur MLA, laid the foundation stone for the work.

“The Southern Railway will track portions of the bridge whereas State Highways will complete the ramp, approach roads and other facilities for the new bridge, which will be completed by the end of 2027,” K. Sundar, Divisional Engineer (DE), State Highways (Vellore), told The Hindu.

Funded under the Tamil Nadu Deposit Fund 2025-26, the two-lane bridge will be 600 metres long and 7.5 metres wide with at least 50 LED streetlights on the bridge and its service lanes. Tiled footpaths with steel hand railings will be provided. Staircases from the bridge to reach the nearest railway stations also form part of the work.

Highways officials said that the railway track portion , which is 37.24 metres long, including concrete decks and pillars, will be done by the Southern Railway to ensure that train services on the route are not affected. Of the total project cost, around ₹20 crore will be spent for track work of the bridge.

The ramp of the bridge and approach roads will be built by the State Highways. Each bitumen approach road measures around 300 metres long and seven metres wide. Around 5,500 sq.metres of land have been acquired at a cost of ₹13.50 crore for the work.

At present, three narrow vents on the railway track are available for motorists and pedestrians to cross the track. Each vent, on an average, will be two metres in height and 1.8 metres wide. Only two-wheelers and auto rickshaws can pass through the vents. During monsoon, the facility gets inundated, forcing residents to take a detour of at least 20 km.

Residents said that at least 10 farming villages with around 40,000 people are residing across the track. For them, the three vents are the only direct connectivity to reach Ambur and nearby towns. Once completed, the new bridge will provide direct bus connectivity to these villages, they said.