Kamal Ghorui
Chennai: The skywalk across Grand Southern Trunk Road connecting Kilambakkam bus terminus and the newly constructed suburban railway station is expected to be completed and opened to the public in May. The work has overshot multiple deadlines, forcing commuters to continue darting across GST Road through high-speed traffic to reach the MTC and mofussil terminus.Officials said they are waiting for approval from traffic police to launch the remaining span of the structure. “It will take a day to erect the second arm across the road, and vehicles will have to be diverted during this operation. We have been asked to wait till May 4,” an official said. The 275m-long skywalk was to be inaugurated before the Model Code of Conduct for the assembly elections came into force, but rectification of excessive deflection in the already erected arm, flagged by IIT Madras, led to further delay. “The structure of the other half has been assembled and kept ready. With due consent from departments concerned, the arm will be launched overnight and kept under observation for another 12 hours,” the official added.Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus was inaugurated in Dec 2023 and mofussil operations were shifted from Koyambedu, but poor multimodal integration has made access difficult for passengers bound for southern districts. Subsequently, state govt and Southern Railway decided to build a Kilambakkam halt station between Vandalur and Guduvanchery and provide a dedicated skywalk for seamless connectivity. Once the skywalk is opened, commuters will be able to walk from the bus terminus to the suburban station and cross GST Road without hindrance.The foot overbridge across the railway tracks and stairways to the platforms will be taken up only after the span over GST Road is completed. This means passengers have to wait longer to directly access the platforms. Railway officials said the station infrastructure is ready, but trains can be halted there only after the foot overbridge is completed.
