Tamil Nadu - Chennai

From Velachery Bridge to Vijayanagar terminus, a geared battle for road space

Photo: M. Karunakaran.

Everyday ordeal: Traffic bottlenecks have become common near the Velachery Main Road - By-pass Road junction. —

CHENNAI: Motorists are increasingly finding it very difficult to travel through the Velachery Main Road, particularly the stretch between the Velachery Bridge and the Vijayanagar Bus Terminus. The narrow width of the road poses makes it an ordeal for commuters to pass this stretch.

Thousands of vehicles from suburbs such as Madipakkam, Pallikaranai, Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam, Medavakkam and Keelkatalai use this stretch on Velachery Main Road to proceed to various points in the city, including Anna Salai, Adyar and Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

It is common to find a long line of vehicles waiting at the Velachery Main Road- Bypass Road junction during rush hour.

S. Purushotaman, a resident of Madipakkam, said it takes almost 15 to 20 minutes to cross this junction. Despite the presence of traffic constables at the junction to ease vehicular movement, utter chaos reigns.

With motorists competing closely for every inch of road space, the pedestrian has no room. Since two-wheelers and autorickshaws are parked along the road margins, they are pushed to the road.

S. Rajendran, a resident of Vijaya Nagar, said that now that the Mass Rapid Transit System has become operational, a dedicated footpath for commuters on both sides of the road was a must. He said even the footpath available on the west side of the road had been occupied by vehicles, pointing to a row of tourist vehicles parked near the vacant space of a private bank and in front of a hotel.

He suggested that the stretch between the Velachery Bridge and the junction of Velachery Main Road and By-pass Road be made a ‘no-parking’ zone so that pedestrians could walk safely.

The State Highways Department in July 2007 removed encroachments and demolished the compound wall of a number of buildings on Velachery Main Road near the Vijaya Nagar bus terminus to make space for widening the road. But the department has been unable to undertake road-widening work, because of a builder obtaining a court stay on demolition the compound wall of a building located on the road.

An official of the Highways Department said that except for one building, whose owner had obtained a court stay against demolition of the compound wall, compound walls of a number of buildings had been demolished to create space for widening the road.

The highways official said that the widening of the road at this stretch was important because it is a crucial link for the southern extension of the Inner Ring Road, which is being developed from the Velachery Main Road (under the bridge) to the Grand Southern Trunk Road. The absence of an automated traffic signal makes it worse near the Velachery Main Road-Bypass Road junction. Though signal posts and lights have been installed at various points at the junction, they are yet to be operational.

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