Radial Road Gets New U-Turns that are Expected to Reduce Congestion

DIG of police, Tambaram, Bhubandar Ka Singh told TNIE that the new U-turn locations were identified after commuters struggling to negotiate the busy intersection complained frequently.

Those traveling from Velachery to Pallavaram will need to take a left at the Kamakshi Hospital junction, go 200 meters down the road and take the newly designated U-turn that has been created on the Radial Road. This shift has already cut waiting times for commuters. “I used to wait 7–10 mins every evening for the signal to go green,” said Jaiganesh, a regular commuter between the Chennai-One tech park and Chromepet.

For vehicles coming from Pallavaram towards Pallikaranai, the earlier right turn at Kamakshi signal has been shut. Instead, vehicles have to take a left at Mylai Balaji junction, make a Uturn in Mylai Balaji junction, and then proceed by the flyover to continue towards Velachery-Tambaram Road (VC Kovil) near Balaji Dental College.

In doing so, they have opened up the road and flattened uneven edges so that even heavy vehicles can make these U-turns without any trouble. “We have made requisite changes to avoid congestion,” said Samay Singh Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

To learn more about how we can help protect pedestrians and why some city-goers feel unsafe, Daily Pulse spoke to Andrea Bowers and shared some stories about pedestrian safety.

And while officials say the change will make traffic flow smoother, pedestrian safety is a key priority. Kamakshi Hospital signal as a leave every 4–5 minutes for peds to cross with safe because of 30–40 second interval.”

Despite the changes, some residents remain skeptical. There is already a jam 200 meters from Latha Supermarket because of Tangedco and Metro Waterworks, said another commuter. There is no point in making U-turns there unless that stretch is widened,” said D. Varadhan, a resident.

The move, which has raised concerns, nevertheless will increase efficiency, experts say. When it was launched on OMR, traffic planner Suresh Menon says there was similar skepticism, but motorists now save 30–35 minutes in the corridor, on average.