Decades-old bridge across Coovum river near Nungambakkam railway station along Nelson Manickam Road is being misused as a parking lot. Cars and vans can be found parked on both sides of the carriageway on the bridge, which hinders traffic movement, especially during rush hour.
Built in March 2001, the two-lane bridge is 800 metres-long with a footpath and steel railings, LED street lights and a concrete median. The bridge also has inlets to discharge excess rainwater from the carriageway to the river.
“During rush hour, vehicle movement on the bridge is slow as vehicles are parked on both sides of the road. As the bridge is a shorter route to reach Poonamallee High Road (at Pachchaiyappa College) from Nungambakkam railway station, many people prefer to use this bridge,” says K. Swomiya, a resident of Nungambakkam.
On an average, more than 16,000 commuters use the railway station in Nungambakkam every day. The MTC bus stop (especially towards Valluvar Kottam direction) is extremely crowded due to parking of auto-rickshaws and cars round-the-clock. Several steps by the police such as placing of barricades at the bus-stop have failed to regulate traffic there.
To add to the chaos, for the past few months, auto-rickshaws are being parked on the bridge and obstructing traffic movement on Nelson Manickam Road. Interestingly, a new police booth was set up a few months ago to prevent chain- and mobile-phone snatching.
A section of motorists say that most of the vehicles that are parked on the bridge belong to owners of shops along Nelson Manickam Road.
In this regard, a police official says, “Steps will be taken to curb parking of vehicles on the road.”
