The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Usman Road flyover adds to residents’ woes

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Sunday, Aug 17, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Usman Road flyover adds to residents’ woes

Staff Reporter

Service roads clogged, pavements occupied by hawkers

CHENNAI: Two days after the inauguration of the Usman Road flyover, residents are finding it difficult to make their way in and out of Usman Road. The service roads are clogged with people and the pavements are occupied by hawkers.

Even before the inauguration, residents on Motilal Street had wondered how they would enter their street from Usman Road. Originally, the flyover was proposed to be built to allow for easy flow of traffic from the T. Nagar terminus to the Doraisamy Road junction.

It was subsequently changed from the Doraisamy Road junction to near the junction of Ranganathan Street-Usman Road, they said.

“The idea of flyover is to avoid having signals and ensure free flow of traffic but that purpose has not been achieved,” points out R. Govindarajan, general secretary, Exnora International and a resident.

At present, the crowds that cross the Doraisamy Road and the Usman Road to reach the other side continue to stall the free flow of traffic.

The plight of the residents of Natesan Street, Ranganathan Street, Ramanathan Street, Rangan Lane, Rangan Street and Mangesh Street that falls on the western side of the flyover is miserable as well. Rangan Lane has been particularly hit as the street is a dead-end.

“The entry and exit point to Rangan Lane is only Usman Road. For the rest of the five streets parallel to our, there is entry from Rameswaram Road too. The service road and pavements of Usman Road are occupied by walking shoppers and hawkers making movement difficult for us,” laments G Sriram, a resident of the Lane.

Rameswaram Road is not exactly a saving grace for the rest of the residents there, as it is perpetually congested with heavy vehicles coming in to unload goods to big complexes in the area, parked vehicles and hawkers again.

The place beneath the flyover has been taken over for two-wheeler parking. With vehicles getting in and out of the place, pedestrians and shoppers to the area found it difficult to walk. Even small gaps meant for pedestrians to cross the road under the flyover were blocked by two-wheelers. Compounding the problem were the autorickshaws that meander along.

Traffic changes were announced in the area with effect from Thursday. Another set of changes would be introduced on Sunday by the traffic police.

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