Chennai: Motorists travelling from Ennore High Road to Chennai Central are put to hardship due to heavy traffic. They request the authorities to commence the second phase construction work on the rail overbridge.
The Ennore Road via Wall Tax Road, and Cochrane Basin Bridge Road is the short route connecting Central Chennai and Ennore, the northern gateway of Chennai.
Using Ennore Highway saves time by half-an-hour to reach Chennai Central Station. The route is now busy because of the diversion of vehicles from Tiruvottiyur High Road to Ennore High Road following Metro rail work.
The area is part of R K Nagar Assembly constituency and when former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was the MLA of the constituency, a rail overbridge construction project, worth Rs 137 crore, was announced to solve the traffic congestion.
The Greater Chennai Corporation has taken up the project. The first phase of rail overbridge was completed and opened 28 July 2017, but the second phase is yet to start.
Apart from road diversion, there is traffic chaos on Ennore High Road because of the presence of two railway level-crossings.
Latha, who runs a tender coconut shop near the railway crossing at Parameswaran Nagar, Ennore, said, “An accident took place on the track a few years ago. After the incident, railway gates were put up on either side for public safety by IndianOil Corporation(IOC). The gates are closed four or five times per day by the IOC to allow its petroleum containers to pass through. Each time, motorists have to wait for at least half-an-hour.”
Next to Tondairpet, there is a similar railway crossing – Marshalling Yard. “This gate is closed for 15 to 20 minutes before the train’s arrival. It’ll be closed daily up to seven times. Schoolchildren and office-goers are mostly affected by it. Even in case of an emergency, the gate will not be opened and so even ambulances have to wait. The only solution for this problem is to build the overbridge,” the people in the locality said.
Data available with the traffic police show that Ennore Expressway records a traffic of over 2,000 vehicles during peak hours, per day.
When contacted, a senior GCC official said, “Tenders have been passed for the second phase of rail overbridge. We are waiting for the traffic police to make vehicular arrangements, to pave the way for construction work.”
(Article by Sundar Raj)