The Hindu : `Green corridor' project suffers a silent death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

`Green corridor' project suffers a silent death

By K. Manikandan

CHENNAI, FEB. 21. A project started four years ago to ease congestion on Anna Salai has suffered a silent death.

The `green corridor' project, inaugurated on February 25, 2000 and executed on the 3.5-kilometre stretch between Pallavan Salai and Peter's Road, has not been implemented for more than a year now. The project has been aimed at enabling motorists to cover the distance in about five minutes without being stopped at any of the seven signals, provided they travelled at an uniform speed of 40 km per hour.

The signals on this stretch are synchronised using a single optic fibre cable. The project, sponsored by a public sector company, aimed at decongestion, apart from reducing pollution caused by vehicles waiting at the signals.

Thanks to indiscriminate digging, the cable got damaged and the system collapsed over the years. Due to clogging of vehicles at the important traffic intersections on Anna Salai during peak hours, signals have to be operated manually. The huge volume of traffic flow, particularly in the evening, resulted in motorists taking about 15-30 minutes to negotiate the stretch.

Efforts have been made to revive the project and extend it to Poonamallee High Road, but in vain. The project succeeded partially during non-peak hours — between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. — officials have claimed. Today, there is hardly any indication about the initiative made to bring in some discipline on the road.

Motorists complain that at the Church Park signal, vehicles waiting to take a right turn towards Peters Road regularly cause jams. Motorists, who do not expect to encounter pedestrians at this junction, are taken by surprise when people dart across the road.

Admitting that the green corridor concept is a thing of the past, traffic police officials say there are plans to revive it. But, this time, it will be done through a more advanced technology using global positioning system. Cable-less synchronisation of signals will be done with the help of this system. This will literally eliminate the problem of cable damage due to road digging. The new arrangement is likely to be in place in about three months, the officials say.

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