Residents look for steps to ease congestion
The Highways department would soon relay a 1.6 km stretch from Gandhi Statue near Head Post Office to TVS Tollgate on Pudukottai Main Road in the city amid rising expectations from residents to streamline the traffic flow on this important road.
The road will be redevelop at a cost of Rs 4.6 crore sanctioned under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme (CRIDP). Sources in the department told that the road would soon be laid end-to-end with pedestrian footpath.
It was pointed out that the road was an arterial one in the city leading to the Circuit House near TVS Tollgate and also to the airport. The Goodshed Overbridge also forms part of the stretch.
While residents are happy over the decision of the Highways authorities to relay the road, they also expect the department, police and the Corporation officials to take concrete measures to streamline the traffic flow on the road.
The road has been witnessing chaotic traffic ever since a median was built a few years go from the Goodshed overbridge to the TVS Tollgate. Multiple openings in the median, to allow local residents to cross over, have been giving a torrid time for motorists travelling on the Pudukottai Main Road, especially between the Kallukuzhi intersection and the TVS Tollgate. Unruly drivers,complete absence of police regulation and encroachments have aggravated the problem.
“With residential colonies and commercial establishments located on either side of the road, openings on the median have been provided at least half a dozen places on the short stretch. For local residents the openings are necessary to cross over in their daily commute, but vehicles criss-crossing through the median openings pose a grave danger and often lead to accidents,” observes Raja, an auto-rickshaw driver.
The Kallukuzhi intersection, where vehicle riders take a right from the descent of the Goodshed Road bridge, has emerged the most dangerous spot of late. A large number of residents of colonies on the eastern side of Kallukuzhi Sri Anjaneyar Temple take this route every day. Scores of schoolchildren, riding bi-cycles, two-wheelers, and autorickshaws, have to cross this point. As vehicles slow down or halt to take an acute turn on the descent, some motorists coming from behind are taken by surprise, leading to accidents. Similarly, motorists entering the Pudukottai Main Road from Kallukuzhi have a tough time in the absence of traffic police or an automatic signal.
The Circuit House intersection near the TVS Tollgate, where a petrol station is situated, also faces heavy congestion. Encroachers have only compounded the problem. Of late, roadside eateries and vendors have come to occupy the road and the traffic police and the Corporation have turned a blind eye. Haphazard parking of vehicles in front of the commercial establishments add to the disorder.