Traffic snarls irk road users near Ennore bus terminus

Chennai: Users of Kathivakkam High School Road near Ennore bus terminus are put through the daily ordeal of traffic jams on the stretch that is barely two lanes wide.Motorists say they often have to turn off the engines of their vehicles and wait for a long time. Two-wheeler riders add that they have to endure the smoke from automobile exhausts too. "Since it is a two-way road, traffic gets worse when two buses try to pass side by side. The many curves also mean that drivers take extra time navigating, as they try to avoid bumping into other vehicles. "This is a never-ending problem," said S Kathiresan, a resident of Nettukuppam.A drive up the road revealed there were several unpaved and untarred portions of the stretch. Residents said that these could be black-topped to make the carriageway wider near the terminus and near the urban primary health centre, which is one of the main pain points. "They should at least widen the road near the terminus. When a bus enters and another leaves at the same time, many vehicles end up stuck waiting for the road to clear up. Encroachments should be removed to make space for vehicles," said Ekambaram, a resident of Ernavoor.Zonal officer T Padmanaban said that some encroachments near the terminus were removed when it was renovated earlier this year. "Widening works were planned initially, but were not carried out. We will think about floating a tender for that in the next few months," he said, declining further comment on the issue.