The closure of the Chan Bazaar Road owing to the repair and renovation of an open drain has caused much hardship to motorists in the city.
The small but vital stretch connects the Madurai Road with the West Boulevard Road in the city. The Corporation had dug up a huge trench across one end of the road to repair and renovate an open drain flowing along the Madurai Road.
This has effectively blocked the road, leading to traffic snarls in the heavily congested locality.
A large number of motorists use the road to reach the West Boulevard Road from Madurai Road and vice versa.
Motorists also enter the old city limits via this road and the Jaffersha Street.
With the closure of the road, motorists coming from Thennur and Palakkarai areas have to take a detour and go via the Mainguard Gate junction to reach the West Boulevard Road.
In the absence of the vital link, several motorists, especially two wheeler riders, could be seen going in the wrong direction on the Madurai Road (which is a one way) towards Marakkadai and the Thennur Road over bridge.
This causes huge traffic snarls right through the day on the Madurai Road and also minor accidents.
The spot is also close to the Raja Theatre bus stop on the Madurai Road and many commuters use the road to reach West Boulevard Road. The trench has been dug from end-to-end of the road and there is no way for even pedestrians to cross over. Many people can be seen dangerously jumping across along the steps of a few shops at the corners, local residents complained.
“The road has remained closed for over a fortnight now, causing heavy congestion. We hope that the Corporation authorities will expedite the work and reopen the road at the earliest,” said Raja, an autorickshaw driver.
Residents also complain that the occasional spells of rains over the past few days have only compounded the problem.
