The National Highways Authority of India has begun construction of seven minor bridges across canals and drains on service lanes along the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass Road.
Ever since the highway was made into a four-lane road, lack of continuity of service lanes across minor bridges between Senthaneerpuram and the Kondayampettai has been posing a threat to road users. Wrong side driving is rampant in the absence of minor bridges.
As the service lanes do not run across canals or drains, vehicles were forced to move over to the main carriageway of the highway. Vehicles have to sneak across the main carriageway against oncoming traffic.
Chaotic traffic conditions prevailed near Kumbakonathan Salai-Chennai Bypass Road intersection and Sanjeevi Nagar-Oyamari Road intersection as service lanes at these spots cater to a huge traffic.
There have been persistent demands from city residents for the construction of the minor bridges to link the service lanes.
The issue was taken up with former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan who inspected the spots in 2015 and assured action on this and another demand for construction of an underpass at Kondayampettai intersection.
₹11 crore sanctioned
Sources in the NHAI, which executed the four-lane project, said that construction of minor bridges, sanctioned at a total cost of about ₹11 crore, had begun and all of them would be built within the next three to four months.
The minor bridges would be built across canals near Thiruvanaikovil, Sanjeevi Nagar, near Ariyamangalam road overbridge close to Palpannai and Senthaneerpuram.
Road users heaved a sigh of relief on seeing the construction of the bridges. “It will be big relief for those of us who commute on the bypass road.
Every day I have to make a risky crossover on the wrong side.
Thankfully, the ordeal will end soon,” said Sai Prasad, a resident of Kattur.
NHAI Sources also indicated that work on construction of the underpass across the bypass near Kondayampettai would also be taken up once four of the seven minor bridges were completed so that traffic could be diverted through the service lanes to facilitate construction.
The underpass was sanctioned to ease the traffic congestion witnessed at the intersection where a large number of vehicles take a U-turn.
