Traffic congestion turns worse at TVS Tollgate Junction as Panjapur bus terminus becomes fully functional in Tiruchi

With most long-distance buses operating from the Integrated Bus Terminus at Panjapur, the TVS Tollgate Junction in the city is witnessing severe traffic congestion, especially during peak hours.

Located at the intersection of the Tiruchi-Pudukottai and Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass of the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway, the TVS Tollgate Junction is usually bustling with vehicles from different directions passing through it.

The service roads along the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass, between the Mannarpuram and TVS Tollgate Junctions, have seen a sharp increase in traffic recently as a large number of mofussil buses pass through them to drop and pick up passengers.

Traffic snarls are becoming frequent as buses stop to pick up or drop passengers along the narrow service roads. The problem is acute at the bus halts situated close to the intersection.

The city police had enforced a circular system of traffic flow on the Pudukottai Main Road to ease the congestion. An automatic traffic signal installed several yeas ago was never made fully operational at the junction. However, with the number of buses halting going up drastically, the situation has turned worse, complain residents.

Motorists taking a left turn or going straight ahead from the Sethuraman Pillai Colony side and those coming in from the Golden Rock side are often caught in traffic snarls. The tendency of bus crew to halt the vehicles well ahead of the bus shelter on the small bay for buses coming from Sethuraman Pillai Colony side aggravates the problem, leading to traffic pile-up. Buses halting in the middle of the service lane from Golden Rock side too remains a problem.

“Several travellers are now alight or board buses at the TVS Tollgate junction from where access to the city is easier. Although traffic cops are posted, they do not seem to be able to control the situation during the peak hours,” said K.C. Neelamegam, a civic activist.

Some residents suggest spacing out the halts for mofussil buses, operating to/from different destinations. Mr. Neelamegam suggests that the mofussil buses coming from the Golden Rock side on the service road should be halted only after crossing the TVS Tollgate Junction.

With almost all buses operating in different directions converging at the junction, the TVS Tollgate junction has become highly congested, said S. Pounraj, Secretary, Subramaniapuram Ranjithapuram Residents Welfare Association. “It is difficult for commuters and travellers to cross the roads near the junction,” he said.

Indiscriminate parking of vehicles in front of commercial establishments, especially tea shops and eateries, along the service lanes was aggravating the situation, the residents said. “With the opening of the IBT, many commuters simply park their two-wheelers on the sides of the service roads between Mannarpuram and TVS Tollgate and board the buses. The Corporation should explore the feasibility of establishing a parking lot,” said H. Ghouse Baig, another civic activist.