Residents of Virugambakkam and motorists using Kaliamman Koil Street that connects Jawaharlal Nehru Salai and Arcot Road are fed up with the daily traffic jams on the road.
Snarls are very common and on some evenings, it takes motorists about 45 minutes to just cross 1.5 km to reach the small culvert across the Virugambakkam Canal from the Chennai Moffussil Bus Terminus.
“We are so close to the CMBT and to two Metro Rail stations, yet it is a real headache to reach these points. There are times when we take circuitous routes to reach home in the evenings when the line of vehicles just remains static. Driving on the wrong side by two-wheelers and autorickshaws just adds to the problem. Some efforts to widen the road had begun a few years ago but there has been no progress in that matter,” said Radha Gururajan, a resident of Chinmaya Nagar.
Many out-bound buses from the Chennai Moffussil Bus Terminus also take this 4.5 km-long road that also has an RTO office and connects several thickly populated residential localities.
S. Arumainathan, president Virugambakkam Residents Welfare Association, said the road is very narrow . “The road is supposed to be 27 metres wide but it is hardly 40 feet wide. A median has been constructed in the middle of the road and that causes further problems. Medians must be constructed only if the road has four lanes. Here, the road hardly has two lanes with encroachments and shops occupying the sides. The Chennai Corporation had initiated steps to widen the road,” he said.
Stormwater drains
Residents said that encroachments not just curb free flow of traffic but also are preventing construction of stormwater drains. “There are a couple of temples that take up road space and nobody is complaining about them. If these places of worship are on the side of the road it is ok,” said S. Vasan, a resident of the locality.
The Chennai Corporation had passed a resolution in December 2012 to widen the road.
