CHENNAI: In a relief to people travelling on Poonamallee High Road, the National Highways Authority of India has begun removing the abutment wall blocking traffic at the centre of Maduravoyal junction. This is expected to decongest the stretch to a significant extent.
NHAI officials said the wall was built in 2012 as part of the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal corridor project. While the project never took off, the 10-feet-high wall remained horizontally placed in the middle of the road causing snarls on either side. “With the layout of the port-corridor project being changed, we no more require the abutment wall. We have demolished about 50% of it and the remaining will be demolished by the weekend,” said an NHAI official.
TOI last week had highlighted how the congestion at the junction caused bottlenecks, leading to nearly four ambulances heading towards Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) getting stuck there. This had also caused a stoppage time of 4-6 minutes. In addition to causing bottlenecks, the abutment wall also was a blind-spot structure that led to accidents.
The NHAI had attempted to remove the structure earlier this year but could not do so because of the wall’s rigidity. On Sunday, officials began the work of bringing it down using high-power drilling machines.
Officials, however, were sceptical about how much this would help reduce traffic on the stretch. “The vehicle capacity on the stretch is much higher than the road’s capacity. We have to wait and see how much this will reduce the bottlenecks," the official added.
Meanwhile, as per the new proposal, the alignment of the double-decker elevated Port-Maduravoyal corridor is likely to go along the Cooum River. The Detailed Project Report for this long pending project is also expected to be completed soon. The corridor will be exclusive only for the container vehicles heading to the ports and ambulances are also expected to be allowed.
