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New Indian Express

Railways seeks soil retest for Fort RoB, commuters' woes prolong in Tiruchy

TIRUCHY: City residents put at inconvenience by the demolition of the British-era railway overbridge (RoB) near Fort station would have to wait longer for completion of the new bridge in its place as the railway authorities have sought for a soil retest at the site. Following the structurally-weak RoB being closed for vehicular traffic in March 2024, the Tiruchy railway division dismantled the 157-year-old structure only this May. While the city corporation as part of the project has almost completed work on the approach roads on either ends, the railway is yet to commence construction of the central portion of the bridge, the segment over the railway tracks. Railway officials said they are awaiting the results of the soil testing undertaken at the site by the civil engineering department at the National Institute of Technology-Tiruchy (NIT-T). Sources at the institute, however, said that soil testing had already been completed but that the railway officials requested a re-investigation. 'Based on the railway officials' requirement, we conducted the soil test. As the results showed some variations with the depth of the planned piles, they requested a re-investigation. The work is ongoing. Otherwise, there is no major issue with the soil condition,' an expert from the institute told TNIE. Meanwhile, the public lament that the closure of the bridge has forced all vehicles to take detours via the Karur bypass in the northern end of the bridge and via the Thennur bridge in the southern end. M Sakthivel of Ramalinga Nagar said, 'Officials are not taking into account the ordeal faced by the general public. The bridge's closure is causing considerable inconvenience to residents of Thillai Nagar, Woraiyur and Ramalinga Nagar by way of increased traffic congestion and longer travel time. The railway authorities should begin construction of the bridge immediately and complete it without delay.'