Traffic chokes GST Road as Chennaiites return after long weekend

CHENNAI: As people returned to the city in large numbers after the long weekend, it led to massive traffic congestion on the Trichy-Chennai National Highway, leaving commuters stranded for hours on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Following the Independence Day and Krishna Jayanthi holidays, people from Chennai travelled to their home towns and tourist destinations for the weekend. From Sunday night, their return in large numbers triggered a massive traffic snarl in the NH.

One of the worst-hit stretches was near Maduranthagam at Pukkathurai and Pattalam, where the flyover construction is in progress. The stretch also became severely damaged due to the heavy rain on Sunday. Vehicles were lined up for nearly 5 km, moving inch by inch. It reportedly took more than three hours for vehicles to cross this stretch.

At Irumbuliyur near Perungalathur, traffic was backed up for about 3 km due to the flyover expansion work, which was supposed to be completed by May, but is expected to take a few more months. Similar bottlenecks were reported near Singaperumal Koil, Guduvanchery, and Kilambakkam.

Though the district administration had earlier instructed that vehicles should be diverted via East Coast Road and Kancheepuram Road during flyover construction, the plan was not enforced on Sunday night. There were not enough traffic cops near construction sites to regulate the traffic, leading to chaos and hardship for thousands of commuters.

At Tambaram, passengers returning from southern districts by bus and train crowded the bus stop, adding to the chaos as they scrambled for connecting buses and autos.