The Highways Department has asked consultants preparing
project reports for the proposed grade separators at Kaliamman Koil
Street at Koyambedu and Thiruvanmiyur to take a fresh look at specific
needs at the locations and submit new proposals.

A
high-level committee comprising senior officials has asked the
Bangalore-based consultant to study the possibility of constructing a
‘Y’ pedestrian subway near the entry and exit points to the Chennai
Moffusil bus terminus in Koyambedu.

The design of the
grade separator must be such that traffic on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai
would not be disturbed while buses enter and leave the terminus. The
entry and exit at the MTC depot must also be studied and the possibility
of providing a flyover be looked at.

S.
Arumainathan, president of Virugambakkam Residents Welfare Association
said that with the presence of the markets, CMBT and MTC terminus,
several activities took place in the area and that the consultant must
take them all into consideration.

“Hundreds of
children and parents use the road and the Koyambedu junction. During the
construction of the flyover itself, the Chennai Corporation must take
up the widening of the road,” he said.

The junction
witnesses over one lakh vehicles and has traffic proceeding in four
directions — Maduravoyal and Nerkundram; Anna Nagar, Thirumangalam and
Padi; Vadapalani, Saligramam and Ashok Nagar; and Ekkatuthangal and
Guindy.

As far as the Thiruvanmiyur junction is
concerned, over 1.10 lakh vehicles cross it everyday and 40 per cent of
this traffic does not have an origin or destination in the project area.

Sources
in the Highways Department said the consultant had suggested
segregating through traffic from the local and slow traffic.

“This
would reduce accidents. Service lanes would be provided. They have
suggested that in the long run, with the city expanding till
Mamallapuram, it would be sensible to take the ECR traffic beyond the
RTO office,” said a source. K. Thangam, a resident of Valmiki Nagar in
Thiruvanmiyur suggested that perhaps one arm of the flyover could be
taken to the SRP Tools intersection flyover so that vehicles could avoid
the Tidel park junction.

An engineer said that there
could be two flyovers at the Thiruvanmiyur junction. One should start
from the West Avenue side and land near the MTC bus terminus junction.