Chaos on road with traffic diverted to T Nagar

CHENNAI: Hundreds of vehicles travelling from Saidapet towards Anna Flyover were caught in severe gridlock on Monday morning, after traffic was diverted through interior roads to facilitate construction of an elevated road near Teynampet.

Two-wheelers, cars, and even ambulances heading to Anna Flyover were rerouted through Thyagaraya Road, MaPoSi Road junction, and North Boag Road before turning onto Vijayaraghava Road to rejoin Anna Salai. The detour, which has been in effect on a trial basis from August 17, caused long delays during peak hours.

The diversion is part of traffic management measures planned by the State Highways Department and Chennai Traffic Police. Officials have appealed to motorists to cooperate with the temporary arrangements, follow signposted diversions, and exercise caution around the construction zone.

Regular commuters from Saidapet, Guindy and surrounding areas lamented that the gridlock has extended the travel time to T Nagar, Anna Flyover, Royapettah and Mount Road. Bottlenecks were reported at the Saidapet–Anna Salai–Cenotaph Road junction and again near the Anna Salai–Eldams Road junction.

On Monday morning, office-goers, students and bus passengers were stranded for long periods at the Vijayaraghava Road junction.

E Sathaya, a Nandanam resident, said, “I work in a private company in T Nagar. I’m already an hour late for work. It usually takes me 15 minutes to reach the office, but today it took 30 minutes just to get to Thyagaraya Road.”

M Joseph, an employee at a mobile repair shop on Ritchie Street, remarked that he was taken aback by the new traffic arrangements. “Like me, hundreds of commuters travelling in public and private vehicles are now late for offices and other destinations,” he rued.

An eatery owner on Vijayaraghava Road observed that the logjam, which began around 9 am, only eased towards noon. “It took me 15 minutes to drop my son at school near the Nandanam Metro, a trip that normally takes five minutes. I even saw ambulances stuck in the jam,” he said.

When contacted, an official from the Greater Chennai Police told DT Next that the traffic diversion was implemented after consultations with the general public and relevant field officials. “Initially, it may be challenging to navigate the road changes, but soon commuters will get used to the new routes,” added the official. “Now, people may not use the designated roads to reach T Nagar and Anna Salai. Some may park their vehicles on the roadside. It will take at least a week for everyone to adapt to the detour; only then can we see the trial route result.”