Erratic signals have been throwing traffic completely out of gear on T.T.K. Road for more than a week.
In the absence of traffic police personnel at three traffic signals – Alwarpet, Music Academy and another in between these two spots throughout the day, the situation has become so chaotic that motorists are unable to guess from which direction vehicles approach the signals.
“For over a week, the signal at the Eldams Road-TTK Road junction has been functioning erratically. The absence of policemen makes it more difficult, especially for people who are travelling from Eldams Road to C.P. Ramaswamy Road,” said V. Varsha, a resident of Alwarpet.
Autorickshaw drivers in the area said that due to the erratic functioning of the signals, there is a huge pileup of vehicles on T.T.K. Road, Eldams Road and even Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai.
Last week, four auto drivers came together to try and regulate traffic in the area with little success, he said.
“I was involved in a minor accident near one of the signals. Due to the faulty signals, vehicles surge towards the intersection all at once,” said A. Sanjeev, a call taxi driver, adding that it was difficult during rush hour.
City traffic police attributed the signal snags to a cable fault.
“There is a problem with signals because of power fluctuations. Also, rain water seeps into the circuit, damaging the motherboard and circuits. We have a dedicated team of people to attend to minor faults on a daily basis,” a senior police officer said.
The administration makes sure that traffic police personnel are deployed at those intersections where signals do not function and rarely are such spots left unmanned, the officer added.
