Although it has been more than a year since the new bridge road at Crawford was thrown open for traffic, residents in Crawford and Edamalaipattipudur areas are sore over the delay in the completion of the service lanes alongside the bridge.
The bridge was meant to ease traffic congestion on the road that leads to the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway and has achieved its intended purpose. But local people say the unfinished service lanes are giving them a torrid time.
On the western side of the bridge, the service roadwork was yet to be completed on both Edamalaipattipudur and Crawford sides. A subway built on the western side was prone to water stagnation. The service lane on the eastern side towards Edamalaipattipudur has not been completed.
According to sources, the service lane on the western side has not been laid yet as the land acquisition process was just nearing its end.
The kutcha road turns slushy whenever there are rains. Most residents use the service lane on the eastern side on both directions, leading to demands for a broader service road on this side.
Although the Highways Department officials say the service lanes are of the standard width of 5.5 metres, residents say the lanes are too narrow to accommodate heavy vehicles, especially buses. Traffic snarls have become frequent on the service lanes, causing much hardship to commuters, especially schoolchildren, they say. The narrow service lane leads to the Bharathi Min Nagar, Anbu Nagar, and several other colonies from the main road.
“As the service lanes are incomplete, motorists face difficulties. Accidents are becoming frequent on the eastern side of the service lane in front of the Crawford Mosque.
“The subway built on the western side has become mosquito breeding ground as water is stagnant there for months together,” says H. Ghouse Baig, a resident of Edamalaipattipudur.
The bridge work, which commenced in April 2011, was hampered by various problems, including land acquisition and shifting of utilities. Construction was completed last year. But it is unfortunate that the service lanes have not been completed fully, Mr. Baig says.
A senior official of the Highways Department says revised estimates had been forwarded to the government for administrative sanction for completing the balance works. The estimate has to be revised as a higher expenditure (than the originally allocated sum) has been incurred for shifting of utilities. Once the approval is received, tenders will be called to complete the work, he says.
