The State Highways Department is constructing two grade separators on the Velachery Main Road at Medavakkam to facilitate smooth flow of traffic. Proximate to the IT corridor, this stretch is experiencing rapid development, largely due to the attraction it holds for IT professionals, who have settled down there in large numbers. As a result of this, the traffic situation seems to have become uncontrollable.
The separator, constructed at a cost of Rs. 129 crore, will have three underarms — at Medavakkam Main Road (Nanmangalam), Mambakkam Main Road and Sholinganallur-Perumbakkam Main Road.
At present, service lanes are being constructed.
The separator, on the Velachery-to-Tambaram side, which covers a distance of 1 kilometre, will have two underarms, one at Mambakkam Main Road and the other at Sholinganallur-Perumbakkam Main Road.
The other separator, on the Tambaram-to-Velachery side, which covers a distance of two kilometres, will have three underarms — at Medavakkam Main Road (Nanmangalam), Mambakkam Main Road and Sholinganallur-Perumbakkam Main Road.
The work on constructing the grade separators started in February this year.
The three intersections — where Velachery Main Road is intersected by Medavakkam Main Road at Nanmangalam, Mambakkam Main Road at Medavakkam and Sholinganallur-Perumbakkam Main Road at Medavakkam — witness heavy traffic during rush hour.
The Medavakkam Main Road is narrow up to Velakkal. Due to lack of traffic signals at both the intersections, involving Mambakkam Main Road and Sholinganallur-Perumbakkam Main Road, the traffic is chaotic.
“To avoid the traffic chaos at these two, motorists travel via Sowmiya Nagar to reach the IT Corridor and East Coast Road,” S. Raghunathan, a resident of Sowmiya Nagar, said.
“The grade separators will ease the congestion during rush hour.”
The vehicular traffic literally starts from Perumbakkam on Perumbakkam Main Road.
From these intersections, it is easy to access Grand Southern Trunk Road, Southern Sector of Inner Ring Road, IT Corridor, and East Coast Road.
“Despite the State Government giving administrative approval for the preparation of a detailed project report in the year 2012, the work started only this year. It should have started in 2012,” a resident, on conditions of anonymity, said.
As part of the twin grade separator project, certain sections on the eastern side of Velachery Main Road are being widened.
At the three intersections, the roads will be widened for a distance of around 150 metres. To execute the project, more precisely for the creation of service lanes, the interior lanes off the Velachery Main Road are also being widened.
