New roads and widening projects planned to ease traffic congestion in Thoothukudi city

Thoothukudi plans new roads and widening projects to alleviate worsening traffic congestion affecting residents and commuters.

In a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the city, Thoothukudi Corporation has planned to lay new roads and widen the existing ones.

With each passing day, traffic snarls in the city are worsening, leaving residents and commuters groping for solutions to address persistent bottlenecks, even as summer begins to set in across the pearl city.

Gowtham, a resident of Tsunami Colony, said: “Compared to other parts of the city, traffic congestion is a never-ending story in VVD signal and road towards Third Mile.”

In many areas, street vendors have encroached the pathways and parts of roads, leading to further congestion in major locations in the city, he added.

Another resident points to the severe congestion in first and second railway gates, where people often get stuck during peak hours. As the second railway gate serves as a major route to many schools and hospitals, residents have called for development of appropriate infrastructure to ease the traffic flow in the area.

Mayor Jegan Periyasamy said that several development works had been carried out in the city and around 4,000 roads had already been laid. The Corporation had decided to widen several roads to ease traffic congestion.