Finishing touches include painting of the small concrete median on the new bridge and levelling of the ramp. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement : The new elevated bridge on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44), maintained by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), at Perumugai village here was opened for traffic on Tuesday, since the repair work which began last February.NHAI officials said that the opening of the new bridge and its underpass was necessitated to decongest the existing service lanes where all vehicles on the highway were diverted for the bridge work earlier. It was also meant to prevent accidents on the narrow service lanes as the region have been witnessing frequent rains . “We have opened one arm of the new bridge towards Bengaluru. In a day or two, we will allow traffic on the other arm towards Chennai,” a NHAI official told The Hindu.He said, finishing touches included painting of the small concrete median on the new bridge especially towards Chennai and levelling of the ramp. Once traffic is allowed on the other arm of the bridge, service lanes on both sides of the highway would be re-laid with bitumen. The new underpass would also be opened for traffic. Damaged stormwater drains along the service lanes would be re-built and LED street lights would also be installed on the bridge, he added. The ₹18-crore-bridge is built at Perumugai, a border village on the highway connecting Vellore with Ranipet district. As per reports given by the police to the district administration, .Perumugai village is one of the ‘black spots’ within Vellore limits on the highway. These black spots are accident-prone areas.The new subway will accommodate two-wheelers, cars and buses. Such an arrangement will help reduce the number of U-turn spots on the stretch to prevent accidents. The stretch has a few government schools, primary healthcare centres and car service centres.NHAI officials said at present, the highway between Krishnagiri and Walajapet is maintained by L&T on behalf of NHAI on a 30-year agreement, made a decade ago. Published – September 11, 2024 12:11 am IST