Demand for underpass near Tiruchi-Chennai NH intersection

TIRUCHY: Alarmed by the accidents taking place “every day” at the intersection on the Tiruchy-Chennai National Highway at Sanjeevi Nagar despite a traffic signal installed at the spot, vehicle users and locals reiterate the “immediate” need for a vehicular underpass on the stretch.

Mentioning several protests having been staged over the demand, they stress that constructing the underpass at an elevated portion of the highway a few hundred metres away from the accident hotspot is the lone viable solution.

Hundreds of residents from localities like ARK Nagar, Panayakurichy, Sarkarpalayam and Mullukurichi heading to the city for work and other reasons cross the national highway at the intersection in Sanjeevi Nagar. They also return home through the same intersection.

Considering the vehicular flow on the highway adding to the traffic pile-up at the intersection, vehicle users have been demanding an underpass on the stretch for the past several years.

Heeding to their demand, the police designated the Sanjeev Nagar intersection a hotspot and installed an automated traffic signal at the spot in May 2023. Despite this, the stretch witnessed at least three fatal accidents between 2023 and 2024, locals said.

While locals claimed a protest by the kin of a youth from Sarkarpalayam, who was killed in an accident in January 2024, led to the authorities assuring of the construction of an underpass in the stretch, they said no visible action has been taken yet.

S Muruganandham of Sarkarpalayam said, “Officials assure of action on the issue whenever we meet them or stage protests. No progress is, however, made on the matter. Delay in its construction causes accidents and deaths. While there is a traffic signal, all vehicles pass by without stopping. As a result, minor accidents occur every day. Most involve motorists. The authorities should construct the underpass without further delay.”

J Udhayanan of ARK Nagar, who said he submitted a petition on the matter with the chief minister’s special cell in 2022, added, “Commuters from six directions use the intersection.” The construction of a vehicular underpass is hence the lone solution, he said.

When contacted, a NHAI official in Tiruchy told TNIE, “The stretch is uneven. We will based on a road safety expert’s recommendations study whether the underpass can be constructed there. Efforts are under way for this.”