Unchecked parking of trucks along the service lanes of the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass Road near Senthaneerpuram in the city has been posing hardship to road users, especially after the recent closure of an intersection on the highway at the spot.
The traffic police have recently erected permanent steel barricades to prevent vehicles taking a U-turn or crossing the highway at the intersection near the Senthaneerpuram Bus Stop, situated immediately after the Golden Rock road over bridge. Vehicles now have to necessarily go via the service lanes and the underpass near Senthaneerpuram bus terminus or take a detour up to the Ariyamangalam junction to take the U-turn to go towards Senthaneerpuram or Golden Rock.
While the police move is ostensibly aimed at preventing accidents at the Senthaneerpuram Bus Stop intersection on the highway, motorists who now have to use the service lanes between the bus stop and Senthaneerpuram underpass are often faced with obstructions on the services, mostly by way of parked trucks.
The service lanes now cater to heavy two-way traffic on both sides. With the National Highways Authority if India set to complete the construction of a minor overbridge across the nearby Uyyakondan river, providing a vital link along the service lanes, traffic is likely to increase manifold and aggravate the problem, residents fear.
A number of commercial establishments including a weigh bridge, godowns, garages, tea shops and eateries are located along the short stretch of the service lanes between the Senthaneerpuram bus stop and the underpass. While some trucks are seen parked in front of a weigh bridge along the service lane on one side, others line up in front of the shops on the service lane on the opposite side.
Local residents complain that police have not found an effective way to overcome the problem. “It has become very difficult to negotiate the short but narrow service lanes as the vehicles are parked almost right through the day. Accidents have become frequent with two-wheeler riders suffering the most. We have made representations. But except for putting up a no parking sign board, there has been no sustained action. Some say that it is for the Highway patrol to take action on the matter,” said V. Baskaran, State vice president, United People’s Welfare Organisation and a resident of Sangiliandapuram.
He and other residents point out that commercial establishments, especially the weigh bridge, should provide their own space for parking of trucks and not allow them to use the public roads.
Residents also complain that it has become a nightmarish experience to negotiate the poorly-lit underpass which connects the service lanes on the two sides. “It is very difficult to make the acute turn. For two wheelers and other smaller vehicles, it’s almost a blind spot as they cannot see the oncoming vehicles. Most motorists do not have the habit of honking to warn the vehicles coming on the other side. Often trucks with heavy loads get stuck on the turn and they have to go back and forth several times to take the turn. The police should take effective steps to streamline the traffic flow on the service lanes before any major untoward incident happens,” said Ravi, another resident of the locality.