An idea by a team of local traffic policemen to ease the congestion at the Maduravoyal junction on Poonamallee High (PH) Road is yielding results.
As per the new traffic plan, which came into force a fortnight ago, motorists coming from Alapakkam Road are not allowed to cross PH Road to reach Koyambedu.
With steel barricades placed at the median at Maduravoyal Junction on PH Road, this stretch has been blocked. Now, motorists coming from Alapakkam Road take a ‘U’ turn around 100 metres from the junction, towards Vanagaram.
The new traffic arrangement has reduced waiting time at Maduravoyal junction by at least 20 minutes.
“The new arrangement has come as a big relief to us as we would earlier wait for long time at the junction due to traffic congestion,” says B. Vivekanandan, a motorist from Vanagaram near Maduravoyal.
The police say just like motorists from Alapakkam Road, throse coming from the Koyambedu direction on PH Road are not allowed to take a ‘U’ at the Maduravoyal junction.
Instead, they, along with motorists from Alapakkam Road, have to turn at a spot away from the Maduravoyal junction, a measure that has been introduced to ease traffic congestion at the junction, especially during rush hour.
Unlike most other sections of PH Road, the Maduravoyal junction is narrow with both sides of the stretch lined with several commercial establishments. Moreover, MTC buses and south-bound mofussil buses have their stops near the junction so that they could make use of the Chennai Bypass flyover.
Every day, between 11 p.m and 6 a.m., hundreds of vehicles, especially container lorries and cargo trucks from manufacturing units at Irunkattukottai and Sriperembudur use the stretch to reach the Chennai Port, which is around 19 km from Maduravoyal.
During the day, hundreds of buses, from MTC and educational institutions, and other vehicles, including motorcycles, are found on PH Road, on their way to the main parts of the city.
Experiencing traffic movement round-the-clock, PH Road is not only one of the busiest stretches in the city, but also one of the most accident-prone. In fact, according to the police, on the basis of number of fatal accidents, PH Road remains the second most accident-prone stretch in the city after Anna Salai.
Vehicles from Alapakkam Road add to the traffic congestion. Due to such heavy vehicular movement, the Maduravoyal junction is chocked every day.
Last year, police placed dry palm tree logs, unused concrete boulders, steel barricades and small concrete slabs to create a makeshift median on PH Road. It was a temporary measure aimed at preventing motorists and pedestrians on either side of the stretch from crossing the Road, at will.
“We tried various methods, but had to finally close the median to ensure free flow of traffic and ensure the safety of pedestrians crossing the junction from Alapakkam Road,” police sources said.
