Chennai metro rail is laying new and wider footpath across a 9-km Metro stretch in North Chennai. The stretch will link the metro service line between Washermenpet and Wimco Nagar, which is expected to be opened by mid-2020.
“The footpath is being laid across the entire 9km stretch instead of just in front of our stations. The pavement will be uniform across the stretch, making it easy for both our commuters and other pedestrians to walk along the road as well as access the metro stations,” said a Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) official.
The 9km phase-1 extension line between Washermenpet and Wimco Nagar, getting ready at a cost of Rs 3,770 crore, will have eight stations. It includes two underground stations, namely, Theagaraya College and Korukkupet, and six elevated stations at Tondiarpet, Toll Gate, Thangal, Gowri Ashram, Tiruvottiyur and Wimco Nagar.
A metro rail official said the footpath being laid along the north Chennai metro line will be 2m wide with bollards and will look similar to the ones built around phase-1 metro stations, which are also maintained by CMRL. Though the footpath laid around metro stations in phase-1 were within the land acquired for the construction of the stations, CMRL built footpath across a nearly 2km stretch on Second Avenue in Anna Nagar between Anna Nagar Roundtana and Thirumangalam.
“Our footpath may not look different from those laid by the city corporation and their width may be the same,” an official said. While those laid within metro rail’s property is also used for setting up food stalls and kiosks, the pavement laid on Second Avenue, Anna Nagar, is mostly free of encroachment making it convenient for pedestrians.
Under phase 1, CMRL has built broader footpaths paved with interlocked tiles and broader tiles near its stations on Poonamallee High Road, Anna Salai and 100Feet Road though the roads belong to the state highways department. However, there is no uniformity in the footpaths along these stretches because metro’s footpath is only for a few metres on either side of the stations to help commuters access the stations.