Widened road proves to be more of a bane than boon

Reckless driving, inconsistency in parapet construction and absence of street lights result in accidents on Moondrumavadi-Iyer Bungalow road

It is chaotic at Kannanendal junction on Moondrumavadi-Iyer Bungalow road which witnesses so many accidents in the past one year.

Accidents have increased on the Moondrumavadi-Iyer Bungalow road ever since it was widened by the State Highways department last year. A variety of factors are attributed to the rise in accidents - reckless driving, inconsistency in construction of parapet along a Public Works Department channel that runs along the road, and absence of street lights.

With the elevated highway project under way on New Natham Road, many road users prefer to take the Moondrumavadi- Iyer Bungalow Road to reach Mattuthavani and nearby places.

S. Nagendran, a shopkeeper near Moondrumavadi, said the speed of vehicles crossing this stretch has increased drastically after the widening of the road. “Especially youngsters travel on this stretch at a very high speed. Vehicles that emerge out of the numerous residential areas on both sides of the main road clash with the speeding vehicles, leading to accidents,” he said.

Every day at least one accident occurs at the intersections on Moondrumavadi-Iyer Bungalow road, said M. Bose, a resident of Kannanendal. “It is extremely dangerous at the junction that leads to Kannanendal,” he said.

With vehicles criss-crossing the stretch at a high speed, it had become dangerous for pedestrians to cross the road, said C. Maheshwari, a resident.

Also, the absence and inconsistency of parapet along the PWD channel poses a risk to road users. At many places the road goes up and down and is not on the level of the channel. There is no parapet at several places along the channel.

Many two-wheelers and cars have accidentally fell into the channel, said Pon. Balakrishnan, secretary of Meenakshi Nagar and Sasi Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association. “In many instances, the vehicle users were seriously injured and there were occasions when we used a crane to lift the vehicles from the channel,” he said.

Garbage in channel

The water channel is full of garbage dumped by e residents and shopkeepers.

Adding to the problems is the poor illumination, especially between Moondrumavadi and Kannanendhal junction, said S. Nagu, a shopkeeper near Mahalakshmi Nagar. “The lamp posts are located wide apart and many street lights are dysfunctional,” he said.

The residents want speed breakers along the stretch to reduce the speed of vehicles and to prevent accidents. “Also, parapet has to be constructed along the entire channel to prevent vehicles from falling into it,” said Mr. Balakrishnan.

K. Prasanna Venkatesan, Divisional Engineer of the State Highways department, ruled out construction of speed breakers. “The speeding vehicles must be monitored and controlled by the police personnel,” he said.

The inconsistency in the level of the road and parapet along the channel was a result of the State Highways department and PWD working on two different projects simultaneously. “We are preparing a proposal for construction of the parapet along the entire channel,” he added.