Residents of several localities around Koyambedu have been avoiding the Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, thanks to the traffic snarls caused by the chaos and lack of space on the road, courtesy construction of a ₹93.50-crore 1.15-km-long flyover at Koyambedu, that began in February 2017.
The junction of Kaliamman Koil Street and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai is crucial, as it has two major bus terminii — Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Bus terminus and MTC terminus — on one side, and the Koyambedu fruits, vegetable and flower markets on the other. Every hour, the junction witnesses over 15,000 vehicles. On Thursday noon, traffic slowed down a lot more than usual, due to rain and the resultant water stagnation. “When compared to other roads, the surface is actually alright. But if one gets into a jam, it will take over 25 minutes to get out of one. To get to Arumbakkam, we usually take internal roads, even though they take more time,” said S. Uma, a resident of Koyambedu.
Better management
S. Arumainathan of the Virugambakkam Residents’ Welfare Association said the flyover was on an important road, but was taking forever to be completed. “We see work going on at all times. But we do not know what the reason for the delay is. Motorists going to Avadi, Anna Nagar, Padi and Arumbakkam take the stretch. For those entering and exiting the bus terminii, it is really confusing. Better traffic management, signages and posting of traffic personnel at all times will help,” he said.
Official sources in the Highways Department said nearly 80% of the work had been completed, and construction would be over in about four months. “It is really difficult to work on the flyover, especially since the actual construction can be done only at night. We get permissions to close only 100 m of road space at a time. During construction, the space that is available will naturally be reduced,” explained the official.
