Overflowing Vaigai river water has compounded the traffic woes in Madurai city which is already facing congestion in Goripalayam junction after demolition of Kuruvikaran low-level bridge and Obulapadithurai causeway.
Piling up of vehicles, from two-wheelers to buses on Alagarkoil Road up to Tamukkam, on Panagal Road up to the entrance of Government Rajaji Hospital, Palam Station Road up to Kalpalam junction is a common sight, as all vehicles from Tamukkam and Anna bus stand have to take only A.V. Bridge due to overflowing Vaigai river that has submerged the causeway under Kalpalam New Bridge.
Otherwise, vehicles proceeding towards Sellur and Dindigul Road would take the Alwarpuram Moongilkadai Road or Meenakshi College Road to take North Bank Road and reach Sellur.
Unable to manage the choc-o-bloc traffic jams that spilled over even at Anna Nagar, Kamarajar Salai (near Teppakulam) and East Veli Street (up to Simmakkal), the police opened up the Meenakshi College Road despite water flowing on the pothole-ridden one.
“We have taken all precautions by placing barricades along the river and also around potholes and allow vehicles to slowly pass through the low-lying road stretch under Kalpalam New Bridge,” said a traffic police officer.
“This disorder in the important junction is only because of sheer lack of proper planning in execution of Smart City projects by the administration,” complained V. Kottaisamy, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) functionary.
Either the Kuruvikaran Salai high-level bridge work should have been completed on time or at least the Obulapadithurai causeway should have been spared for diversion of traffic, at least for those days when Vaigai river does not have much flow, he said.
The Kuruvikaran Salai bridge work that was scheduled to be completed by March 2021, is still under way.
“This work has also ruined the South Bank Road at the Kuruvikaran Salai junction thus blocking traffic flow between this junction and Teppakulam area.
The Obulapadithurai bridge work has not progressed all these days, he complained. Same is the case with North Bank Road near Alwarpuram that was dug up by Highways Department months back for constructing a culvert, he charged.
Bumper-to-bumper movement is a daily menace on PTR Bridge connecting Anna Nagar with Teppakulam as no causeway/bridge is available for over 2 km till A.V. Bridge.
“It takes at least 10 minutes to cross the bridge. It is waste of time, fuel and energy,” complained K. Balachander of Gomathipuram.
Road users want the authorities to complete the Kuruvikaran Salai bridge work and lay the North Bank Road between MGR Bridge and Sellur ROB at the earliest to free up congestion.
