Southern Railway gears up to start construction of ROB near AFT mills

The Hindu

22-05-2025

With the shifting of temporary bus stand from the Anglo French Textile (AFT) mills ground, the Southern Railway held preliminary consultations with the District Administration to work out modalities before taking up the ₹72-crore project to construct a two-lane Road Over Bridge (ROB) at the level crossing near AFT mills on the arterial Cuddalore Road.
Of the total cost for constructing the ROB, around ₹52 crore will be utilised from the Smart City fund and ₹19 crore will be incurred by the Railways. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy had laid the foundation for the construction of the 630-metre-long ROB in December last year. But the railways could not go ahead with the works since at that point, the Puducherry Municipality had shifted bus operations temporarily to the AFT mills ground to facilitate the reconstruction of Rajiv Gandhi Bus Terminus on Maraimalaiadigal Salai.
The reconstructed terminus has now been opened for bus services paving the way for railways to begin construction work for the ROB. A meeting was chaired by Sub Collector (Revenue), North, Ishita Rathi on May 6 with stakeholders, including officials from the Southern Railway, to discuss various aspects regarding the construction work, precautionary measures and traffic arrangements needed for smooth execution of the project. Officials of the District Administration and the Southern Railway inspected the project site for making an on-the-spot assessment on May 8, a government official told The Hindu.
At the meeting, a representative of the Southern Railway has informed that the ROB would start from a point in the middle of Providence Mall and end before the AFT mills road on Puducherry-Cuddalore Road. Service roads, measuring 4 metre, have been proposed on both sides of the bridge and the two existing gates of the court complex would have direct access to a pass beneath the proposed ROB. The railway officials have clarified at the meeting that one subway would also be provided on the western side of the bridge, the official said.
Before the Southern Railway commences work, the District Administration will have to shift the autorickshaw stand, parking of two-wheelers, mini lorries and temporary shops on the stretch from Venkatasubba Reddiyar Statue to the Court Complex.
Concerns of commuters
The stretch from Venkatasubba Reddiyar Statue to the level crossing houses several important venues, including District Court, Forest Department office, Mall, a Church, hospital, and a newspaper office.
'The construction of the ROB is a very important step towards decongesting the stretch. The closure of the railway gate during peak hours was a big hindrance. It has been one of our long pending demands to have a bridge so that there will be free movement of vehicles during the passing of trains. Our only request to the administration is to provide road shoulders on either side during the construction phase to allow us a way to reach our office,' said a court employee.
According to an official, a request was made at the meeting for construction of a temporary service road for the court and forest office staff. The Southern Railway has agreed to construct road shoulders and erect temporary barricades on both sides of the road to facilitate vehicle movement during construction.
Retrofitting work on
The PWD and traffic personnel have informed the railways about the retrofitting work being undertaken on 100 feet road and the traffic diversions in force. The closure of the stretch from Venkatasubba Reddiar Statue now to facilitate the ROB construction would require vehicles to be diverted through Point Care Street and 100 feet road.
'The 100 feet road over bridge is already congested as we are allowing vehicles only on one side due to the retrofitting work. If the stretch along the court is entirely closed for ROB work, vehicles will have to be diverted through Point Care Street and 100 feet road. The retrofitting work will be completed in a month and henceforth the railways could accordingly start the ROB work,' a PWD official said.