COIMBATORE: The underpass of the Old Avinashi Road flyover in Coimbatore city has become a traffic chokepoint as more and more motorists use it to avoid the intense daytime temperature.
Motorists have urged the officials to stop cars and mini-trucks from using the underpass and only allow two-wheelers and autorickshaws in the underpass to avoid the bottleneck.
The old Avinashi Road flyover was inaugurated by then chief minister and DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi back in 1974. The flyover, which is about 50 years old now, was revamped in 2019. Being one of the major flyovers in the city, it remains busy throughout the day. But, the number of vehicles passing through the flyover’s underpass has increased at a staggering rate in recent times. The soaring temperature has been cited as the reason for the spike in the underpass users.
T Madhuvannan, a motorist from Chetty Street, told TNIE that vehicles line up during the peak hours on the old Avinashi Road flyover underpass as cars and mini-trucks are using the pathway to escape the scorching heat.
“Earlier, cars and other four-wheelers were prohibited by the officials by installing bollards near the entry points of the underpass and only two-wheelers and three-wheelers were allowed. Then vehicles moved quickly with ease. But ever since cars and other mini-trucks began using the flyover underpass, there has been nothing but utter chaos and bottlenecks. So the officials must consider bringing back the old system by prohibiting four-wheelers from using the narrow underpass,” he added.
The one-way system should be revived on the 300-metre stretch of the Mill Road from Markkadai Junction to the RG Street-Mettupalayam Road Junction, demanded motorists. he present two-way traffic causes congestion often as the stretch is very narrow, they added. The district road safety committee which has been taking a series of measures to reduce the traffic congestion in the city is set to look into these demands of motorists.
“Prohibiting cars and other four-wheelers on the flyover underpass is not possible as the vehicle load on the flyover will increase drastically. The main reasons for the bottleneck are cars which proceed from Avinashi Road and take a right turn to Brooke Bond Road instead of making a U-turn at the roundabout under the flyover,” Divisional Engineer of the State Highways Department (Road Safety) G Manuneethi told TNIE. “We will inspect the spot directly to study the issue and discuss it in our next meeting. Then we shall come up with a solution for the problem. We shall check on the Markkadai Junction road one-way route system,” assured Manuneethi.