Metro Rail to complete viaduct and double decker construction between Porur and Power House by September end

Chennai Metro Rail will complete the construction of the viaduct and the massive double decker stretch along Arcot Road for the phase II project between Porur and Power House by September end.

Porur to Power House, a section of corridor 4 of the phase II project whose entire length runs to 26.1 km from Light House to Poonamallee via Porur and Vadapalani. This section of corridor 4 is pivotal for commuters for two reasons; firstly, when ready, it offers connectivity to the phase I network at Vadapalani and secondly, the 3.75 km double decker corridor between Alwarthirunagar and Alapakkam will allow commuters to switch between corridor 4 and corridor 5 (Madhavaram to Sholinganallur) in any of the four locations which are Alwarthirunagar, Valasaravakkam, Karambakkam, and Alapakkam. This time next year, trains will be operated in the first level of the double decker and shortly thereafter when a part of corridor 5 is ready, the second level will witness train operations.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have to construct around 340 piers between Porur and Power House and of that, nearly 95 per cent of the work has been completed.

Sources said there has been a six-month delay in the construction of the Porur-Power House stretch.

“It has been anything but easy to build the viaduct along this stretch. We had to deploy launching girders in quite a few locations. This huge machinery was used because there was no road width available to work and cranes couldn’t be deployed. We had to build the piers and stations without disturbing the traffic and the launching girders were the only solution. There were also giant pipelines and cables, which had to be shifted before constructing the piers. Once this stretch is operational, people will realise how convenient it will be to travel by Chennai Metro Rail along the congested Arcot Road,” an official said.

The viaduct still has to be completed in a few locations including near Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar and Vadapalani. It will be over in two months.

In the locations where the viaduct has been finished, track laying is under way and the installation of overhead equipment (OHE) is in progress. “The track and OHE work has been on at Vadapalani, Saligramam, Karambakkam and Alapakkam,” another official said.

Sources said it could take about four months to finish the OHE work.