With the traffic diversion in place, frequent traffic snarls on Karur Bypass Road in Tiruchi have raised safety concerns among motorists and road users.
The overbridge near the Maris Theatre on Fort Station Road has been closed to traffic on Saturday to facilitate the construction of the new bridge. Buses and other vehicles, including two-wheelers, have been diverted via Karur Bypass Road and Thennur bridge.
Following this, traffic snarls turned worse on Karur Bypass Road. Motorists complained that it takes around 20 minutes to reach the 3.5-km stretch from Sastri Road to the Main Guard Gate than the usual five minutes.
“There is heavy vehicular line up on the entire stretch of the road, which has turned into a hotspot of traffic congestion. The situation is chaotic in the peak hours, and with two-wheelers jostling for space with buses and heavy vehicles, commuting is a difficult task on the stretch,” said V. Sabari, a road user.
Considering the sharp increase in the number of vehicles plying through the road, motorists say the traffic police should come up with a solution to ensure the free flow of vehicles. “Police personnel must be deployed during peak hours, and haphazard movement of buses around the bus stand must be controlled,” said M. Kannan, a motorist.
Besides Karur Bypass Road, the vehicles are also being diverted via Thennur Bridge, which has developed severe damage on the expansion joints between the decks, leaving wide gaps. The bridge was supposed to be closed for vehicular movement to take up the restoration works. However, it has now been put on hold as it serves as an alternate route to reach Chatiram Bus Stand. Although the bridge is one-way, violations are rampant, causing significant traffic congestion on the stretch.
P. Ayyarappan, a road safety activist, said: “Apart from regulating the vehicular movement, the officials should remove roadside parking of vehicles and encroachments by vendors on these stretches to prevent frequent traffic snarls.”
When contacted, a senior police official said they would study the issue and take necessary steps to regulate traffic. Police teams had also been deployed in shifts along the stretch to ease traffic bottlenecks.
