A week after it was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, the Foot Over Bridge (FOB) with escalators near the bus depot of Anna Nagar West on Jawaharlal Nehru (J.N) Main Road has been drawing numerous pedestrians. Those using the FOB to reach School Road from Sixth Avenue and vice versa say their travel distance has been cut short by at least four kilometres..
For the maintenance of the new facility and also to help pedestrians use the escalators, two staff have been posted at either end of the facility. “The staff will also help children and women board the escalators safely,” according to a Highway official. .
This FOB is one of seven such facilities constructed across the city. The project has been executed by the State Highways Department
under the World Bank-funded Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project-III and is based on the recommendations of the Chennai Comprehensive Transportation Study done by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. As per the plan, escalators have been provided on both sides of the FOB.
Ramps have also been constructed for the differently-abled. Unlike the FOBs with lifts like the one at Nungambakkam, pedestrians need not wait at FOBs with escalators. “The facility has made crossing the stretch safe. Having escalators is a novel idea and is most helpful to senior citizens,” said V. Rajagopal, president, Anna Nagar West (Phase – II) Residents Welfare Association.
Every day, on an average, at least 20,000 pedestrians cross the junction resulting in traffic chaos especially during morning and evening hours as the School Road is dotted with many educational institutions. The traffic problem worsened in November 2011 when J.N Road between Padi flyover and Thirumangalam Junction was made one-way to facilitate the construction of a flyover at the Thirumangalam Junction.
Since then, residents of School Road and neighbouring areas have been forced to travel through the congested 18th and 13th Main Road to reach Sixth Avenue.
Meanwhile, to reach the School Road from the Sixth Avenue, residents have to go to Second Avenue and then take a right turn at the Thirumangalam Junction to reach the School Road, which is a distance of at least four kilometres.
