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Work on demolishing the Anna arches was halted on Monday morning after the crane operator doubted the capacity of the 400tonne crane to lift the arch.

The arches are being pulled down to make way for two flyovers and a subway at the junction of Anna Nagar Third Avenue Road, EVR Periyar Salai and Nelson Manickam Road.

The state Highways department had started the demolition work on Saturday night hoping to complete it by Monday morning. A giant crane had been engaged to lift the arch after it was truncated with the help of diamond cutters from the pillar on which it rests. “As one of the diamond cutters malfunctioned, the

work had got delayed. We completed truncation work in the early hours of Monday,” a Highways department senior official said.

However, lifting the arch from the pillars was stopped after the crane operator sounded the alarm. “The arch seems to be much heavier than we estimated. As a precautionary measure, we decided to engage an additional crane to lift the arch. We are hoping to complete the work by Tuesday morning,” an official said.

Meanwhile, the traffic diversion put in place for the work threw traffic out of gear at the Aminjikarai Arumbakkam stretch of EVR Periyar Salai.

Vehicles from Aminjikarai were not allowed to enter Anna Nagar through Anna arch.

Credit: DC