Clearance given for erecting girders atop piers of overbridge near Fort Station: MP

The new road over bridge coming up near the Fort Railway Station in Tiruchi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The Principal Chief Engineer of the Southern Railway has given clearance for launching the composite girders as part of the construction of the overbridge near the Fort Railway Station in Tiruchi paving the way for the completion of the project soon, Tiruchi MP Durai Vaiko said on Saturday.

Although the eight composite steel girders, each about 30 metre long, were brought to the project site, sanction was awaited from the Principal Chief Engineer (PCE) for erecting them over the concrete piers. “I had written to the PCE earlier this month requesting him to grant the sanction at the earliest as the overbridge has remained incomplete for the past two years. I was informed by the Tiruchi Divisional Railway Manager on Saturday that the PCE has given the sanction. This is an important development in moving the project to the next stage and I am closely monitoring its progress,” Mr. Durai Vaiko said in a statement.

Mr. Durai Vaiko said he would be meeting the General Manager of Southern Railway on September 28 and request him to complete the project at the earliest.

The overbridge is being jointly built by the Tiruchi Corporation and the Southern Railway Construction Organisation. While the Southern Railway Construction Organisation would built the structure on the railway portion, the Corporation would build the approach roads. The project is being executed on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis.

It has been more than two years since the overbridge was closed for vehicular traffic to facilitate the construction work, forcing city residents to take a detour to reach the Main Guard Gate area.

The old the British-era bridge above the Tiruchi-Karur electrified broad gauge section was demolished in May 2025 to make way for the new overbridge.