Due to ongoing construction of a flyover, traffic at the CMBT junction in Koyambedu is sluggish during rush hour; to get around this problem, many motorists now take MMDA Main Road to reach Poonamallee High Road. However, this three-kilometre-long stretch, which connects Jawaharlal Nehru Main Road with Poonamallee High Road at N.S.K Nagar junction, is unable to take the “extra load”. Due to encroachments by hawkers and unauthorised extension of shops, only half of what was originally a 60-feet-wide stretch is available for motorists. “The Corporation should remove the encroachments and widen the stretch as the road is an alternative route for motorists heading towards Poonamallee High Road,” says S. Ramakrishnan, a resident of Choolaimedu.
MMDA Main Road is lined with educational institutions, hospitals and residential localities. So, the traffic flow is almost continuous. Ambulances headed towards Kilpauk Medical College ply on this stretch.
Residents point out the lack of a pedestrian crossing on MMDA Main Road. Though the Choolaimedu police station and the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Anna Nagar, are located on this stretch, traffic police personnel have not been deployed there, not even at important sections such as J.N. Main Road and P.H Road intersections, say residents. “Necessary steps will be taken to remove the encroachments and widen the stretch at the earliest,” says a Corporation official.
