The simultaneous execution of various development works in north Chennai has created traffic bottlenecks in many localities there, forcing motorists to take a detour.
Residents of Perambur and Peravallur said the ongoing works to construct the Perambur Loco Works Road Over Bridge (ROB), the construction of a subway near level crossing No.2 near the Villivakkam railway station and Perambur flyover had led to the traffic problem.
D. Ramu, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, said that he had to travel an additional seven km to reach Koyambedu, as the Villivakkam railway level crossing No.2 had been closed and there was heavy traffic on the level crossing no.1.
Twice the travel time
Motorists travelling to the city take a detour via M.K.B. Nagar or through Perambur Barracks Road and Pattalam. “I travel for about one hour in rush-hour traffic to reach my office at Parrys’ Corner. Earlier, the travel time was only half an hour when I used the Perambur Loco Works ROB that connected to Ayanavaram,” he said.
B. Sharathchand, a college student at Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar, said: “It now takes almost an hour to cross the Ganesapuram subway through the Perambur High Road, which is already heavily congested. Moreover, after the closure of Perambur Loco Works ROB, traffic from there also gets diverted to the Ganesapuram subway.”
A Southern Railway official said there had been a delay in the subway work at level crossing gate no. 2 and blamed the contractor for the slow progress. Though they had the option to terminate the contractor, they decided to continue with the present contract keeping in mind the process of re-tender, which would further delay the project. The work, which was scheduled to be completed this month, is expected to be over by July, he added.
On the Perambur flyover, he pointed out that they had already issued the necessary caution order for executing the work at the railway portion. The entire work was being executed by the Chennai Corporation.
A senior Corporation official said an additional bridge is being constructed adjacent to the existing facility at Perambur Loco Works and it would be completed in two months.
The existing facility, which was closed, has been reopened.
