COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore corporation is planning to start work on the proposed foot overbridges (FOBs) at Lakshmi Mills Junction, Gandhipuram and Ukkadam this month, corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said on Saturday. The FOBs would be built to improve pedestrian movement and safety.The commissioner said, “Out of the proposed FOBs, the one at Lakshmi Mills Junction will be established with the corporate social responsibility fund from G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital.”
According to corporation sources, the design and the exact point of installation of the Lakshmi Mills Junction FOB is yet to be finalized. A coordinated inspection from the state highways, the city police and the corporation is expected to be convened soon to decide these aspects. The FOB will be equipped with an elevator.The commissioner said the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) had suggested a few design modifications for the proposed FOBs at Gandhipuram and Ukkadam. “A corrected design will be submitted to the DMA in the upcoming week, and the projects will be expedited. Though changes will be carried out, the initial estimation will remain the same for these two projects,” he said.Each of these two projects has been planned for execution under the public-private partnership mode at an estimated cost of Rs 8 crores. Private parties will be granted permission for a minimum of 10 years for the operation and maintenance of the FOBs.The Gandhipuram project will see construction of three FOBs: A 55-metre-long FOB across the Dr Nanjappa Road to connect the Town Bus Stand with the Crosscut Road; A 40-metre-long FOB across the Bharathiyar Road to connect the Town Bus Stand with the Thiruvalluvar Bus Stand; and a 40-metre-long FOB across the Dr Nanjappa Road to connect the Central Bus Stand (mofussil bus stand) with the newly inaugurated Semmozhi Park.At Ukkadam, the corporation has planned a 120-metre-long L shaped FOB connecting the two bus terminals that are now under construction.
