Despite frequent accidents on a small stretch of Grand Southern Trunk Road between Irumbuliyur and Tambaram, safety measures are yet to be put in place to prevent accidents, or keep a check on overspeeding and rash driving.
On February 24, hundreds of residents of Irumbuliyur staged a spontaneous protest following the death of motorcyclist after he was hit by a speeding lorry. Two weeks ago, a pensioner died after his motorcycle was hit by a lorry at the bridge over the railway lines at Irumbuliyur.
Soon after the protest on February 24, police officials assured the angry residents that safety measures would be put in place to prevent overspeeding. However, so far, no such initiatives have been taken, said M. Jeyaraj, a resident of Irumbuliyur.
“We expected barricades to be placed here. Vehicles travel on high speed from one arm of Chennai Bypass and also from GST Road. It is an ordeal for pedestrians to cross the road,” said Mr. Jeyaraj.
He pointed out to the cement concrete topping on the bridge, which was severely damaged and the gap between the deck slabs was too wide.
Thus, the front wheels of two-wheelers tended to get trapped.
According to Mr. Jeyaraj, minor accidents of two-wheeler riders slipping and falling down were common.
B. Thangaraj, who drives to work from his home in Perungalathur to his office in the city on his motorcycle, said the condition of the road had been going from bad to worse. Traffic policemen said the design of the GST road in Irumbuliyur was unlike that of other stretches of arterial roads and this was one reason for the problems faced by commuters.
They would be placing barricades ‘criss-cross' ahead of the signal in a couple of weeks to check over-speeding. Officials of the State Highways Department, while agreeing that the bridge needed immediate attention, said the responsibility for its maintenance lay with the National Highways Authority of India only.
Efforts to seek an opinion from the NHAI on proposed safety measures proved unsuccesful .
Residents and motorists however were of the view that immediate repairs should be undertaken without any further delay to prevent accidents..
