Damage of a portion of a wall beneath the flyover in Padi is the reason behind frequent accidents on Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Main Road, as motorists on either side of the stretch cross the road abruptly.
According to the police, the wall has been deliberately damaged to create space for motorists to cross the stretch without having to climb on to the flyover. The 200-ft-long wall was built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as per the requirement of the railways to prevent people from crossing the defunct railway level-crossing at Padi junction. “It’s easy to reach the other side of the road by crossing the stretch rather than by taking the long route to reach the flyover,” said K. Sethu, who drives through this stretch .
Many say that as the train service via Anna Nagar and Padi was terminated many years now, pedestrians and motorists find it convenient to cross the defunct railway-level crossing to reach JN Main Road and then cross the stretch. Further, vehicles from Red Hills that go towards Villivakkam do not have access to a free left on the service lane opposite Singaram Pillai Higher Secondary School and they have to take the flyover. Likewise, vehicles from Padi proceeding towards Villivakkam and vice-versa have to go only on the flyover. “During the rush hour, the CTH Road near Padi flyover is congested and chaotic. So, we prefer to use the space beneath the flyover,” says K. Devi, a resident of Padi.
However, police officials say that unmindful of the flow of traffic beneath the flyover, motorists and pedestrians from either side of the stretch cross abruptly taking the motorists on the JN Main Road by surprise. This results in accidents. Sometimes, fatal. Most of the accidents happen when trespassers from either side of the stretch try to go through the damaged portion of the wall to cross the stretch.
