Hero Image

Why Chennai traffic comes to a crawl at these junctions

CHENNAI: If you thought that the Chennai Central junction was the busiest in the city, then here’s something new. Junctions near IT corridors are becoming more congested than those traditionally considered a motorist’s nightmare.

The Ramapuram traffic signal on Poonamalle High Road is officially the most congested junction in Chennai, according to data collected by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) for expansion work.

On an average, more than 1.75 lakh vehicles cross this junction. Intersections in front of Kamakshi Hospital at Pallikaranai near Chennai One Tech Park (1.56 lakh), Tidel Park at Taramani (1.37 lakh), Perumbakkam-Pallikaranai (1.32 lakh) and below Porur flyover (1.27 lakh) are among the top 10 congested junctions.

Experts say the numbers indicate that use of private vehicles among people working in these areas is high as public transportation and infrastructure are inadequate. There are no local or metro train lines near Ramapuram, Porur on Poonamalle High Road, Pallikaranai on Radial Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road after Taramani towards Siruseri. The available options are MTC buses and share autorickshaws. While buses are rare and not punctual, share autos overcharge, are unsafe and cannot handle the surge in commuter volume.

While around 430 buses (4,400 trips) ply along these locations every day for lakhs of people, bridges proposed — at Echangadu junction along Radial Road and Pallikaranai junction along Velachery-Tambaram Road — have missed deadlines. The absence of viable alternate routes to workspaces, hospitals and educational institutions is another reason for high vehicular movement in these areas. For instance, to reach Sri Ramachandra Medical College or Aravind Eye Hospital, motorists have to use Poonamalle High Road, while to reach Chennai One or DB Jain College one has to take either OMR or the Radial Road.

Other junctions along arterial roads continue to remain in the top 10 chart. Nandanam junction on Anna Salai, which once topped the list, is in the seventh spot with 1.25 lakh vehicles crossing the signal a day. The number has remained constant since 2006 and one reason could be the increase in MTC bus operations as many new routes, introduced after 2006, now pass through Nandanam. Koyambedu market (1.72 lakh vehicles a day), Spur Tank Road junction (1.31 lakh) and Greenways Road (1.23 lakh) continue to remain among the most-congested junctions.

Besides these intersections, highway stretches passing through the suburbs have recorded high vehicle movement. This includes Chennai-Trichy National Highway-45 (2.05 lakh vehicles), Inner Ring Road (2.08 lakh) and Chennai Thiruvottiyur High Road (1.72 lakh). More than 80% of vehicles using these roads are cars and two-wheelers.

A senior officer from the traffic police said they are coordinating with highways, corporation, CMRL and MTC to decongest these junctions. “Soon, a meeting will be held to discuss plans and modalities,” he said.

READ ON APP