Traffic woes worsen near the MGR statue roundabout in Tiruchi

Motorists in Tiruchi face hardship at the MGR statue roundabout, causing traffic snarls and collisions.

Motorists in the city continue to face hardship while negotiating the MGR statue roundabout.

The roundabout, situated near the district court on Bharathidasan Salai, serves as a major junction for commuters heading to various parts of the city. Motorists, who commute from Anna Nagar link road to Lawsons Road and vice versa and those heading towards Bharathidasan Road and Cantonment from Puthur and vice versa travel mainly via the MGR statue roundabout. But it is common to witness traffic snarls at the roundabout.

The upgraded and enlarged roundabout was opened for traffic about seven years ago. Since then vehicle users have faced constraints while driving past the roundabout. While the scale of woes was less in the initial days, it gradually scaled up in due course. With the sharp rise in number of vehicles, it has emerged as a major hazard for motorists nowadays.

Vehicles, including two-wheelers and four-wheelers, come close to colliding with one another while negotiating the roundabout. While the situation is somewhat manageable during non-peak hours, traffic snarls turn acute during peak hours as vehicles heading to Anna Nagar link road from Lawsons Road, and those from Bharathidasan Salai heading to Anna Nagar link Road and Puthur converge at the junction. Similarly, the problem persists for motorists approaching from Puthur and Lawsons Road. In peak hours, the roundabout becomes chaotic with vehicles converging from different directions.

Though traffic policemen man the traffic at peak hours, it is said that it has not addressed the issue. A large number of vehicles line up on the approach roads from Puthur and the Cantonment when the police enforce traffic regulations.

“Motorists tend to drive past others while crossing the roundabout. The motorists, who do not take risks, have to be extremely patient to wait for their turn to find space,” says M. Karthikeyan of Woraiyur, who uses the roundabout regularly.

Opinion is divided on reducing the size of the roundabout. while there are road users, who vouch for reducing the size of the traffic islands, there are some, who oppose the idea. A retired senior official of the Tiruchi Corporation said that the size of the roundabout was designed based on the advice of the State Highways that advocated that bigger roundabout would provide sufficient time for the vehicles to pass through it.