SETC blames road works for 'delays' at Kilambakkam terminus, writes to NHAI
Mohan has written to NHAI officials in Chennai seeking to widen the service road into two lanes with a good motorable tarred surface to avoid such traffic congestion.
CHENNAI: The backlash from passengers, who resorted to a road roko on NH outside Kilambakkam Bus Terminus (KCBT) late at night on Wednesday for nearly four hours after a breakdown in bus services has forced the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) to get cracking and save face.
Attributing the "delay" in bus arrivals to the ongoing works on two flyovers on the Maduranthakam-Melmaruvathur stretch of the GST Road, the corporation has urged authorities to widen the service road from a single lane to two lanes to ease traffic flow.
"Due to the construction works on the GST Road, vehicles from south-north districts coming to Chennai via NH-45 get trapped where the road narrows to a single lane, for 1 to 1.5 km. Added to this, the poor condition of the service road forces heavy vehicles to go slow, leading to traffic snarls. The situation worsens during holidays, auspicious days, and weekends," SETC Managing Director R Mohan said.
Mohan has written to NHAI officials in Chennai seeking to widen the service road into two lanes with a good motorable tarred surface to avoid such traffic congestion. The GST Road between Chengalpattu and Ulundurpet is a four-lane highway. "However, the narrow service road has become a bottleneck, causing delays of 45 minutes to one hour for buses reaching KCBT," he said.
Mohan noted that delays in bus arrivals at KCBT affect scheduled departures. "For instance, the travel time for a Tiruchy–Chennai bus is seven hours. If a bus departs Tiruchy at 2 p.m., it is scheduled to reach KCBT by 9 p.m. But due to the traffic congestion, it arrives 1 to 1.45 hours late," he said.
MS Chaithanya, project director, Project Implementation Unit, NHAI Chengalpattu, said a two-lane service road has already been provided. "The existing GST Road is eight metres wide. We have provided a 7 to 8-metre-wide service road. However, residents parking vehicles and TNSTC buses halting at roadside hotels have reduced its effective width."
He said the NHAI is constructing underpasses (VUPs) at Uthiramerur and Padalam junctions on Maduranthakam–Melmaruvathur stretch as a solution. "The work is expected to be over in 8-9 months," he said.
