Permanent closure of a manned level crossing at Lalgudi consequent to the construction of a road overbridge irks residents of the town.
The bridge was constructed after a delay of eight years. Construction of a roundabout at the junction of Tiruchi Road, Kumulur Road and Ariyalur highway is yet to be completed owing to delay in acquisition of land.
According to railway sources, it is customary to close a level crossing once a bridge is constructed in its place. In the case of Lalgudi, the level crossing was closed on June 1 and steps will be taken to construct a subway to facilitate safe movement of pedestrians and light vehicles.
But residents say that the railway gate was closed even before completion of work related to the overbridge. “Operation of town buses between Lalgudi and Anandhimedu, Idaiyathimangalam, Koohur, Patchampettai, Thathemangalam and Nannimangalam has been affected following the closure of the railway gate. “The town buses have to cross the railway gate from the western side to the eastern side of the town. The bus stand is located on the western side and buses are halted at the police station area on the eastern side. “We have to walk some distance from the police station to the bus stand,” says A. Anand, one of the residents.
School students are the worst affected. “The level crossing should have been closed only after constructing the roundabout. We do not use the road overbridge to avoid traffic snarls at the western side near bus stand,” says A. Easwaran, one of the parents who came to drop his daughter near the level crossing.
Further, absence of lights on the road overbridge poses a threat to road users at night, says R. Muthukumaran, another resident. Apart from the delay in completion of works allied to the road overbridge, particularly the roundabout, delay in construction of the subway would only aggravate the problem. The service roads also do not have streetlights as the old lamp posts have been removed during expansion of the old road.
Traffic police personnel are also burdened as they have to deploy a team of at least five personnel for regulating the traffic at this important junction.
