A few days ago, traffic catapulted into complete chaos at Vijaya Nagar, and it looked like a road had caved at the spot. However, it was not a mishap, a huge pit has been dug up as part of the two-tier bridge work at the junction.
Although residents know that they have no option other than co-operating with the many traffic diversions and putting up with the snail-paced vehicular movements, they wish officials could give them an alert every time a portion of the road is ear-marked for bridge construction or any other works.
A resident of Spic Nagar, Velacheri, Marimuthu says, “The pit has been dug at the junction of ByPass Road, Taramani Road and Tambaram Road. Recently, a new pit for another pillar for ByPass Road to Tambaram was dug up.”
Marimuthu says the main problem here is traffic jam. “It takes half-an-hour to cross this junction. It would be better if the residents are notified about the progress of the work. We want to know what the plan is, how long will it go on for and how the officials will manage traffic.”
“Some days, suddenly we find a two-way stretch made into one-way. Only if we are alerted in advance, we can find alternative routes instead of getting stuck in traffic. Whatever new traffic rules are laid, we follow without an idea of what is going on,” rues another resident.
The 640-metre-long two-lane flyover will connect Velacheri ByPass Road (100 Feet Road) with Velacheri-Tambaram Main Road near Velacheri MRTS station, and the second flyover will connect Taramani Link Road with Velacheri ByPass road.
According to reports, in 2013, the state Highways department proposed to build two bridges at a cost of Rs 90 crore and the work began in 2015. However, the work got delayed. Civic officials cite scarcity of land, delay in clearance from traffic police and administrative issues with contractors as reasons for the delay.