Chennai: Despite having a wide carriageway and a flyover, the Madhya Kailash-IIT-Madras stretch of Sardar Patel Road remains choked throughout the day as changing traffic arrangements, conflicting vehicle movements, and last-minute lane switching create bottlenecks on a corridor that handles at least 11,000 vehicles an hour.Congestion persists during both peak and non-peak hours despite the road having adequate infrastructure to handle traffic. Motorists blame last-minute lane changes and inadequate deployment of personnel at critical points for slowing down movement.Motorists travelling from Madhya Kailash towards Guindy face a major bottleneck near the IIT-M flyover. Vehicles on the left are forced to cut across lanes when access to the flyover is opened. The flyover is operated as one-way at certain times and two-way at others, leaving motorists uncertain about which lanes to use. “There is no clarity until you get close to the flyover,” said Raghavan, a resident of Adyar.Another choke point is the IIT-M junction, where motorists turning right towards Kotturpuram wait at the signal. The queue often spills onto the carriageway and blocks vehicles proceeding straight towards Guindy. “The road is wide enough, but vehicles heading towards Guindy get stuck behind those waiting to turn right. Better lane management could keep through traffic moving,” said Vineeth, another motorist.Traffic flow is disrupted in the opposite direction near Anna University, particularly when vehicles approach the IIT-M flyover. Motorists approaching from the left have to move across the carriageway to access the flyover, creating conflicts with vehicles proceeding through the junction. Motorists also said traffic personnel were often concentrated at a junction instead of being positioned at critical points along the stretch to regulate traffic. “They rarely step onto the road to see what causes the congestion,” said Valliappan, a professor from Kotturpuram, who uses the stretch regularly.A senior police officer said four to five personnel had been deployed along the stretch to streamline traffic. Corrective measures were also taken whenever complaints were received, the officer said. Urban planner Suresh Menon said a few changes to the existing traffic arrangement could substantially ease congestion. “The traffic signal below the IIT-M flyover can be removed for regular vehicular movement and activated only for about 20 seconds every three minutes to facilitate pedestrian crossings. Vehicles from Raj Bhavan towards Madhya Kailash can use both lanes of the IIT flyover,” Menon said.Similarly, vehicles travelling from Madhya Kailash towards Raj Bhavan could be allowed to proceed straight without stopping at the IIT-M signal, while those heading towards Kotturpuram could be given a free right turn, he said.
