Move to build vehicular underpass at Sanjeevi Nagar intersection

NHAI plans vehicular underpass at Sanjeevi Nagar intersection on Chennai-Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway to ease traffic congestion.

A plan to to build a vehicular underpass at the Sanjeevi Nagar intersection on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway in the city is being drawn up by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Situated on the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass road, the heavily congested intersection has become a traffic bottleneck of late given the high volume both on the highway and the local traffic joining or exiting the highway. So much so that an automatic traffic signal had to be installed on the highway by the city police to prevent accidents.

Yet chaotic traffic conditions prevail often due to frequent traffic pile ups at the intersection. Apart from the local traffic joining the highway, several vehicles entering the city via the Odathurai Road from Chennai side have to taken a U-turn here. Similarly, a large number of commuters from Sanjeevi Nagar also have to cross over to join the highway towards Ariyamangalam.

Many motorists drive on the wrong side of the service lane from Odathurai Road to join the highway at the intersection to avoid taking a long detour via the Kondayampettai Vehicular Underpass. This adds to the chaotic traffic as vehicles criss-cross the junction, which has been identified as one of the accident-prone blackspots by the police.

The NHAI had requested its road safety consultant to study the issue and suggest remedial measures. Sources in the NHAI told The Hindu, the consultant had submitted a proposal for building a VUP at an estimated cost of about Rs.47 crore. However, the consultant has been asked to revise the proposal taking into account the need for shifting of underground utility lines at the intersection.

Steps were being taken to obtain in-principle approval for the plan from the NHAI headquarters, while the revised plan is being prepared parallelly, the sources added.