Bridge work hits traffic hard

Chennai: The closure of arterial Koda­mbakkam bridge due to maintenance by the city corporation on Satu­r­d­ay choked traffic in Vad­ap­alani, Nungambakkam, Kodambakkam and T Nagar.

Even the interior roads in these areas witnessed tr­a­f­fic snarls till late eve­ning, throwing peak hour tra­ffic out of gear. “The dive­rsion was made to lanes and by-lanes, leading to bottlenecks at Cho­o­la­imedu high road. Alm­ost all junctions got bloc­ked, adding congestion to already congested Nelson Manickam road,” traffic police sources said, add­ing that the snarl was ine­vi­table as the corporation has to complete the maintenance work on the bridge.

Auto drivers were seen helping people and easing the jams. Office-goers and general public, unaware of the traffic diversion, were the worst hit. “It took more than an hour for me to reach Chennai Central from Vadapalani; the police and corporation should put up more warning boards, indicating traffic diversion,” said K. Rajan, an insurance agent.

A corporation official said the public have to put up with the inconvenience for at least two more months. The traffic police have granted permission to close the Kodambak­k­am bridge for repair only on Saturdays and Sun­d­ays. Though two-wheelers and other light vehicles would be allowed to use the bridge on weekdays, there would be a total ban on all vehicles on weekends. The bridge was one of the oldest in the city and in need of restoration, he said.

The civic officials said they wanted to finish the work at one go, but as the traffic police had permitted traffic diversion only during weekends, the restoration would take at least two or three months.

“We are also getting permission to carry out repair works on eight other old bridges. But those repair works will include only refurbishing of the extension joints and can be completed in a short span of time without disturbing the traffic on a larger scale,” the official said.