namma mejura

This is part of the series of infrastructure projects under development in and around Madurai. Madurai have National Highways going out in 7 directions (towards Dindigul, Trichy, Rameswaram, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Shencottai and Kochi) of which atleast 4 routes were proposed to become 4-track roads.

1. North-South Golden Corridor: Supposed to be over by 2007. The stretch from Samayanallur – Virudhunagar had a target deadline of March 2008 according to boards put up along the road. It’s march 2008 now and seems it will take at least one full year to complete. The bye-pass around Tirumangalam can be opened in 3-4 months time.
2. Madurai-Trichy: Work progressing fast on the Madurai-Trichy route (NH47), it is expected to be ready by the end of 2008.

Besides, the ring-road which is essentially a 4-track road is proposed to make it a full-circle around Madurai. The remaining parts

1. Kappalur (south) to Samayanallur (north-west): is now being built under NH-7 Kashmir-Kanyakumari 4-track road
2. Samayanallur to Uthangudi (north-east): is being touted in newspapers but constructuion has not actually begun.

We hear a lot of infrastructure plans in & around Madurai. It is gratifying to hear new projects, but more often than not, things crawl at snail’s pace and takes decades to complete. I intend to write a series of pending/proposed infrastructure project lists, starting with Bridges in this post.

Here’s a list of proposed bridges and their present status. A long pending bridge at Shanthi Nagar (behind Fatima College) was completed last year.

Bridges:

1. Thathaneri Bridge: The bridge supposed to ease the rail-road crossing on northern banks of River Vaigai. Might qualify for the longest time taken to build award (if ever there was one). It’s more than a decade and still haven’t crossed half-way mark. Current Status: Just the pillars stand aloof with couple of span completed on eastern side. The work above railway track seems to be over.
2. Ellis Nagar Bridge: A main bridge in city center. The 4-lane bridge is built as 2 adjoining bridges. On western side, 2 lanes will start from TB road near Western entry of Railway junction and ends near Periyar bus stand. On the opposite direction, it starts from periyar bus stand and ends in Ellis Nagar Road near Grace Kennett hospital. One half is completed and will soon be opened (April 08?). The other part will languish for some more time.
3. Palanganatham Flyover: It’s a wonder we heard only in newspapers. The design seemed confusing and roads too narrow for adequate shoulder space around the bridge landings. The shifting of Mofussil bus stand from Palanganatham reduced it’s importance. Now, with a proposed new Roundtana at Vasantha Nagar junction, which will be a mere 50m from Palanganatham junction, this project may never see the light.
4. Widening Bye-Pass Road bridges: The bridge near (previously) Natraj Theatre and the one near Theekathir office across River Vaigai were proposed to be widened (read: new bridge by the side of existing bridge). It can be taken up only after Ellis Nagar Bridge is completed and opened to public.

Photo credits (Skyscrapercity forums)

Railway infrastructure development usually trickles down to Madurai in tiny amount. So it comes as a surprise that quite a few development projects were announced in Railway budget 2008-09.

The single-most important announcement is the double-line between Villupuram & Dindigul on Madurai-Chennai route. The Madurai – Dindigul metre gauge (MG) line is being converted into broad guage (BG) which keeps dragging and now expected to complete by June 08. Another vital announcement is the conversion of Madurai – Bodi MG line into BG.

It’s another matter that announcements in budget takes it’s own time to materialize. The Villupuram-Chengalpattu double-line is still progressing at crawling pace. The estimate of double-line being operational between Madurai & Chennai by 2011 is a bit optimistic.

With the double-line in operation, should 495-km journey take 7 hours? If they can maintain the average speed close to 100-hours, it should be around 5.30 hours. Is it too much to expect?