Radha Nagar Subway causes concern to Chromepet residents

The decade-long-pending Radha Nagar Subway project remains a cause of worry for Chromepet residents, especially ones that reside or have their shops on the main road.

The project, which was touted as a boon for residents by helping them avoid the railway crossing and providing easier access to GST Road, is yet to be finished. The construction, which was taken up again after the resolution of issues between the state government and Southern Railway, is still seeing slow progress.
The project has been the reason for heavy traffic jams during rush hours in the morning and evening, says Mohammad Ibrahim (27), who owns a shop and is a resident of Radha Nagar
Main Road.
The residents face regular problems in navigating the road to the railway crossing, which allows only one vehicle to move at a time. Additionally, they have to wait for another five to ten minutes at the railway crossing to get to Grand Southern Trunk or GST Road.
The subway construction, which is expected to be completed in the next four months, just sees five men working on a daily basis, says Ibrahim, pointing out that the shoring and the construction of approach roads are far from completion.
Besides the roads to the railway crossing being almost blocked, the construction work has also been the reason for reduced sales in the Main Road market, says Somnath Kumar (21), who works at an eatery there.

Kumar, who has been observing the construction undertaken after the pandemic, believes that it will be at least another year or more of a wait for residents before the vehicular subway work nears completion. He adds that the condition of the roads in the area has been poor since the work began and continues to worsen, owing to the subway construction.
The vehicular subway project has already faced several delays with finalizing the structure and design, obtaining certificates and permits from the state government and petitions challenging the land acquisition for the vehicular subway.