Residents of Pattabiram have urged the Highways department to ensure that service lanes on either side of the under-construction road over the bridge across the railway siding line at level crossing 2 are wide enough to allow large vehicles and pedestrians.
The lane on one side is too narrow, once the bridge is opened to traffic, local vehicles will continue to suffer, said Roy Rozario, Peoples Voice. “There is more space on the other side. On this side, even if one vehicle is parked by someone going to the shops, traffic will come to a standstill. The ROB would be of no use to us,” he said. Residents are asking for the landing to be shifted slightly to the other side so that both sides have enough space for local vehicular traffic.
Pattabiram resident J. Jayakumar, said that an IT Park, a bus terminus and five marriage halls were all located on this side with the narrow service lane. “For the past five years, ever since the work began, the bus terminus has not functioned and buses are parked here and there. Due to this many bus services are being terminated before Pattabiram,” he said.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that no board has been placed by the Highways showing project details at the construction site. No public hearing was held explaining how the ROB will be. “I think that before such large projects are undertaken, the needs of local residents should be taken into consideration. They ought to be part of the consultation process. In this case, the project has been only dragging. The railways is yet to commence work on the other side of the twin bridges. We don’t know when that side will be completed,” he said.
