Traffic Chokes Sitra-Airport-Kalapatti Junction, Widening Work Still on Hold

More congestion is occurring now at the busy Sitra-Airport-Kalapatti junction on Avinashi Road, and long-pending proposals are waiting for the Highways Department to act on to ameliorate the bottleneck, getting both commuters and residents frustrated.

This key junction serves as a vital link between Coimbatore International Airport and the committed educational institutions, industries, hospitals, and commercial entities. Yet, with the surge in vehicular traffic, the basic infrastructure-level improvement proposals such as widening the road and construction of a load-bearing stormwater drain are kept on hold.

Given boosting the traffic conditions on Avinashi Road and providing an alternative to several major junctions including this one, the Special Projects Wing of the Highways Department is erecting a 10.1 km elevated corridor over Avinashi Road. The serial removal of traffic signals at the Sitra-Kalapatti-Airport junction and the setting up of a U-turn system to facilitate easier movement of vehicles was an interim step in this regard. The open sewage channel, lack of traffic police, and narrow road width still plague the system, causing blockades regularly.

Motorists complain that turning left toward Kalapatti is especially difficult, and despite multiple public complaints, there has been no concrete action from authorities. The district road safety committee and the State Highways Department’s Road Safety Wing had recommended building a 5-meter-wide load-bearing concrete slab over the drain and widening the road to reduce congestion.

“We submitted the proposal over a year ago to construct a 50-meter stretch of load-bearing drain between the U-turn and Kalapatti Junction,” said G. Manuneethi, Divisional Engineer, Road Safety Wing, Coimbatore. “Although the district collector gave verbal instructions last month to begin work immediately, no progress has been made.”

When asked about the delay, an official from the special projects wing said that Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) had advised them not to undertake any new construction on the left side of Avinashi Road (towards Neelambur) due to the upcoming Metro Rail project.

As officials delay decisions, thousands of daily commuters continue to battle congestion, calling for urgent coordination between metro and highway authorities to resolve the deadlock.