New traffic arrangement at Basin Bridge

The bridge, which provides a crucial link for areas in north Chennai, gets choked in all the directions all throughout the day after the closure of the Elephant Gate Railway over Bridge three years back.

Basin Bridge junction is a major intersection that connects vehicular traffic from Central station via Wall Tax Road, Grand Northern Trunk Road and Cochrane Basin Road.

According to the new traffic arrangement, vehicles proceeding from Vysarpadi via GNT Road Perambur and Vepery cannot take a ‘right’ turn at the junction to reach Wall Tax Road. Motorists should proceed straight to take a ‘U’ turn below the new Mint flyover to reach Wall Tax Road via the narrow Padavattamman Koil Street.

Vehicles from Cochrane Basin Road would not be able to proceed straight to reach Wall Tax Road from the junction. They have to take a ‘U’ turn below the Mint flyover to reach Wall Tax Road via Padavattamman Koil Street.

However, vehicles from Wall Tax Road retains its old traffic arrangement but cannot proceed to Cochrane Basin Road to reach Washermenpet. Vehicles could take a right and left turn at the junction to reach Mint and Vysarpadi or Vepery respectively. Traffic movement in the Wall Tax Road remains untouched considering the fact that most of the MTC bus services use the road to reach parts of north Chennai.

“Due to changes in the traffic movement, the motorists proceeding to Korukkupet via Wall Tax Road have to take a detour to reach their destination. Earlier, we used to enter Cochrane Basin Road from Wall Tax Road in the Basin Bridge junction. Now we have to go to Korukkupet via Mint junction,” lamented K Suresh a resident of Korukkupet.

A traffic policeman said that the new traffic arrangement was implemented now as there was less traffic in the junction in the wake of summer vacation for the schools and colleges. “If the traffic snarl continued in the junction, we will try to make changes in the pilot,” he said.