Tirupati: RUB at Rayalacheruvu road set to become a reality soon

Tirupati: The dreams of getting a road under bridge (RUB) at Rayalacheruvu road in the heart of the city are coming true finally with the physical works for its construction are going to take off from next week. This comes in after almost three years since the proposal was actively contemplated.

After many discussions finally it was expected to start in 2018 and the railway authorities have placed a display board on the both sides of railway gate in December stating the details of the work. Even in that board it was mentioned that the proposed works have to be completed by August 31, 2019 but nothing was done by then.

As part of the RUB, the corporation has shifted water and UDC pipelines and cables already by spending Rs 5 crore paving the way for Railways to take up construction of the bridge.

Simultaneously, the corporation has to construct approach road and retaining walls. The Rs 15.30 crore work has to be executed jointly by the State government and Ministry of Railways on a cost sharing basis and again it was decided to complete it by August 31, 2020. However, this target was also missed.

Guntakal DRM Alok Tiwari told The Hans India that due to Covid-19 the delay became inevitable though it was proposed to start the physical work in April itself. Apart from workers problems many of the railway staff got infected by the coronavirus due to which the finalisation of the designs was delayed.

"But, now everything is cleared and tenders have already finalised. The physical work will start from next week positively after obtaining permissions from the state government to close the road for traffic," he maintained. He said the corporation was also ready to take up the approach road works and once the road is closed, both the works will be started.

The RUB at Rayalacheruvu road was the much sought after facility as it connects the north and south sides of the city. The level crossing gate has to be closed around 80 times daily to allow passenger and good trains movement and for shunting purposes causing severe traffic problems for citizens. An estimated 2.5 lakh vehicles pass through the gate everyday. Denizens can get rid of these difficulties in the next few months.