The proposal for building a grade separator covering two junctions along the Inner Ring Road (IRR) has been shelved because of site constraints caused by the Metro.
Following a meeting at CMDA recently, the grade separator to ease congestion on IRR will be constructed only at the Lakshman Sruthi Junction of IRR with P.T. Rajan Salai and Second Avenue. Traffic at other junctions such as Ashok Pillar and Gokulam Park will be improved by effective management.
The traffic study for the new grade separator was conducted at the junction of P.T. Rajan Salai and Second Avenue. According to the study, the largest number of vehicles was recorded from Vadapalani to Ashok Pillar. Over 32% of the traffic was recorded in the stretch from Vadapalani to Ashok Pillar, 19% in the stretch from Ashok Pillar to Vadapalani, and 11% from P.T. Rajan Salai to Vadapalani.
Reduced waiting time
The report gave three options. According to all options, the four-lane grade separator would start near the Gokulam Park signal and end near the Vadapalani grade separator, with varying lengths and gradients.
The existing waiting time for vehicles on the stretch of IRR is eight minutes. After the completion of the grade separator, at an estimated cost of ₹145 crore, the waiting time is expected to be reduced to zero. At least 3,172 sq m of land along the IRR will be acquired for the project shortly. After the construction of the grade separator, more than 51% of traffic would move through the grade separator.
After development of the grade separator, traffic police and other line agencies will finalise the traffic management plan for the IRR.
