The long-delayed culvert project being developed by the Southern Railway, near the Velachery railway station, is set to be achieved by October end. Once achieved, the culvert project would pave the way for connecting the Station Service Road between Velachery and Taramani railway stations and render a faster accessway to the IT corridor for motorists from the suburbs of Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam, Madipakkam and Adambakkam. Chief public relations officer of Southern Railway, B. Guganesan, presenting a progress report of the Rs 7-crore culvert project, told the media that the culvert project would be launched by October 21, with the foundation, and the substructure made, and the precast slabs installed. He said that the delay in achieving the culvert resulted in the Station Service Road, which was paved to connect the three railway stations on the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), remaining unused for vehicular traffic for years. The Station Service Road was proposed as early as 2010 but was delayed for more than a decade due to several reasons, comprising clayey soil conditions and the demand for a larger culvert to remove rainwater running into the Pallikaranai Marshland through a part of east Velachery. The Station Service Road would move parallel to the railway tracks of Velachery, Perungudi and Taramani, and would help relieve the congestion at the Vijay Nagar junction in Velachery. It would present a shorter route for vehicles bound for the IT corridor. T K Ramesh, a resident of Nanganallur, required the railway officials to enhance street lighting on the Station Service Road as heavy vehicular traffic towards Perungudi and Sholinganallur (where several IT firms are located) was anticipated. Image Source