Whenever new bridges are thrown open in Madurai, growth follows in the areas getting connected.
There are more than 20 bridges, rail overbridges, causeways and limited-use subways in Madurai that aid in easy mobility of people and goods. Development of an area can be traced to construction of bridges – Palanganatham and TVS Nagar (two RoBs on TPK Road), Anna Nagar (PTR bridge across Vaigai river), Villapuram and Ellis Nagar (revamped RoBs).
Soon the city will have two more bridges across the Vaigai. One connects Arapalayam with Aruldosspuram and the other connects Thirumalairayar Padithurai (Simmakkal) with Sellur. Construction work for both the bridges started in April 2015. Bitumen-laying on approach roads and construction of retaining walls are being carried out now. These two bridges have been built in the place of causeways which restricted movement of heavy vehicles.
Big roundabout
According to S. Chandrasekaran, Executive Engineer of the Corporation, a major part of the work on both bridges is over. On the Arapalayam side, there was a 35-metre-wide roundabout. The road around the roundabout was wide enough to allow parallel movement of two buses, he said.
On the Aruldosspuram side, the approach road has been widened to link Thathaneri Main Road that connects Goripalayam with Dindigul highway. But those proceeding to Sellur and Kulamangalam Road through the limited-use subway and the Thathaneri crematorium can instead take northern bank road.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 15/01/2017: The Sellur end of the Thirumalairayar Padithurai bridge where bitumen-laying and retaining wall construction have been taken up in Madurai. Photo: R. Ashok
There was a plan to divert mofussil buses bound for Arapalayam bus stand from Fatima College on Dindigul highway through Thathaneri Main Road and the new bridge, said traffic police officers. If the plan was implemented, traffic congestion at Guru Theatre junction and on DD Road leading to Arapalayam would be reduced, they added.
Both the bridges are 15 metres wide with nine-metre-wide carriageway and 1.5-metre-wide pavements. The Arapalayam bridge, which is 324 metres long, has been built at a cost of Rs. 18 crore. This bridge will vastly cut short the distance and journey time for city buses to Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Stand. If city buses are operated on this route, traffic congestion on Madura Coats bridge and Simmakkal will reduce to a great extent.
If moffussil buses are diverted through Thathaneri Main Road, it would become congested, said K.V. Meenambigai, a teacher from Keezh Vaidhyanathapuram.
All the encroachments must be removed to widen this road. It is said that even ESI Hospital has encroached upon a lot of space.
When it was a causeway, if there was a breakdown of a vehicle, the traffic would come to a standstill. Thankfully, the new bridge was wide enough, said T. Noble Navaraj Paul, an engineer from West Ponnagaram Second Street. A drainage canal in the area had been choked and flooded the streets, and the new bridge would compound the problem, he said.
A bottleneck
The Thirumalairayar Padithurai bridge is of same width but is only 216 metres long. Constructed at a cost of Rs. 12.4 crore, this bridge will wean away traffic from Simmakkal, Kalpalam and Albert Victor bridge to some extent. “Once this bridge is thrown open, traffic congestion at Yanaikkal and Goripalayam would come down,” traffic police said.
But with vehicles parked haphazardly on either side of Thirumalairayar Padithurai Road, right from Simmakkal to the bridge via Annamalai theatre, besides the encroachments, vehicle users will have a harrowing time negotiating this bottleneck of a stretch.
On the Sellur side, the bridge leads to a tricky four-road junction of Kumaran Salai and eastern and western sides of northern embankment road.
If Corporation, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and Highways authorities work in tandem, these two bridges can be put to better use.
