Chennai
If you happen to travel on the Tambaram-Maduravoyal bypass road, you can be comfortable till you reach just ahead of Velappanchavadi. But, after that you may lose your temper till the toll road ends (near Vanagaram), as vehicles approaching Koyambedu and container lorries heading towards the Port pile up, movement can only be inch by inch. A large number of mofussil buses are also using this route, which only adds to the congestion.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials say that they will soon carry out inspections and take up widening work very soon.
What’s more, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) commuters travelling to Broadway and Poonamallee are the ones who are largely affected on this stretch as heavy vehicles occupy most of the space on the road.
MTC buses often remain immovable as they get stuck between container lorries and mofussil buses.
“The officials must find a solution as such a stretch often remains congested. The road can at least be widened so that the traffic can be freed, to some extent. It is only a one-km road, but the travel time takes 30 to 40 minutes. MTC buses and other motorists park their vehicles in the middle of, and along, the road,” says K Vijay Ganesh, an employee with a private firm who travels to Broadway from Poonamallee.
He also adds that there should be a separate way for container lorries. S Mohanram, a city-based road safety activist, says that the officials should take up road widening work promptly.
“As the city is witnessing gradual increase in the number of vehicles, the stretch between Velappanchavadi and Vanagaram, where the toll road ends, has become the worst one for vehicles,” he says, adding that the pending project-elevated expressway on the Maduravoyal was another reason for traffic jams increasing. Surendranath, Project Director of NHAI, Chennai, says that there was a project on the anvil to widen the NHAI road. “We are aware of the issue and we will widen this stretch after carrying out a proper inspection.”
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