Completion of the second stage of the overbridge coming up near the Railway Junction in Tiruchi has been pushed back further and the bow string bridge is now expected to be commissioned by January 2027.

The project, being executed jointly by the Railways and the State Highways Department, was originally planned to be completed by April 2025. The work was formally inaugurated in March 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, but the work began only after traffic diversions were enforced in October that year.

While the Southern Railway Construction Organisation is building the bridge above the busy Tiruchi-Madurai line, the Highways Department has taken up construction of the approaches at a cost of about ₹16 crore.

A bow-string bridge would come up over the railway portion. Work on the fabrication and assembly of the steel bridge is still under way. The steel structure was expected to be “launched” by July, according to Tiruchi Divisional Railway Manager Balak Ram Negi. At a recent press conference, Mr. Negi said the overbridge is likely to be completed by January.

Although the Highways Department had begun construction of the approach roads towards the Central Bus Stand side, it has not been able to take up work on the Mannarpuram arm running for about 400 metres in length. The department could begin work on Mannarpuram side only after the Railways launched the precast superstructure of the bow string bridge.

Time-consuming work

According to sources, once the superstructure is put in place, it would take another six months for the bridge to be completed by both organisations. “Given the heavy traffic on the section and the proximity of the Tiruchi Railway Junction, the work needs to be meticulously planned and executed with necessary clearances at every stage,” the sources said explaining the delay.

The new bridge is part of a two-stage project. The first stage was completed in 2023 after much delay in acquisition and alienation of land. Under the second stage, the narrow bridge across the railway lines near the Tiruchi Junction was dismantled and a new one is being built. It would run between Aristo roundabout and P&T Colony near Mannarpuram. It would include arms leading towards the railway junction and its rear entrance at Kallukuzhi.