The chaos that reigned in and around Vyttila on Saturday, soon after new traffic regulations were introduced following the commissioning of the flyover at the junction could have been avoided, if trial runs had been conducted, traffic police sources said.
Aimed at averting a repeat of Saturday, when Vyttila and roads leading to the junction encountered massive traffic gridlocks, the police on Sunday barred direct entry of vehicles from SA Road to Thripunithura and the Vyttila Mobility Hub. All vehicles from SA Road wanting to cross the junction were thus re-routed through the diversion corridor that was in place for the past three years when the flyover work was on.
They thus had to turn left from SA Road, cross the narrow underpass beneath the Vyttila railway overbridge and proceed along the service road on the eastern side of the NH Bypass, subsequently joining the stream of vehicles along the bypass and then turn left towards the hub or Thripunithura.
Barricades placed
Early on Sunday, barricades were placed to re-route vehicles and signal system switched off, taking note of the fact that permitting direct entry from SA Road, through the space beneath the flyover caused serpentine traffic hold-ups on the Palarivattom side of the junction on Saturday.
The police will observe traffic movement during peak and off-peak hours in the coming days, following which a plan to route traffic beneath the flyover will be zeroed in on, it is learnt.
However, such issues did not crop up on roads beneath the Kundannoor flyover, since vehicles had already been criss crossing beneath the flyover in either direction for the past couple of months. In addition, traffic movement at Vyttila is much more complex, since vehicles from multiple roads, including service roads, converge at the junction.
Still, problems will persist on the north-western side of the junction as was seen on Saturday, since the two-lane bridge over railway tracks is ridden with potholes and problematic expansion joints and is too narrow to accommodate vehicles coming in three lanes from the flyover and in two lanes of the slip road beneath.