Long-awaited, commuter-friendly, safer: Chennai’s Nanganallur gets direct road to Pazhavanthangal subway

The new Rs 29.57 crore scheme means the residents of Nanganallur will be able to build a road to to directly connect with Pazhavanthangal subway, where the thousands of commuters use daily, as well as to relieve congestion and provide improved safety in the area.

he Pazhavanthangal subway links to GST Road, other possibilities for Nanganallur residents (Vanuvampet, Ullagaram, Moovarasampet, Madipakkam) direct road has not been available, and this results in a large volume of traffic between the suburbs along with a significant amount of traffic during peak hour.

At the time of this writing, the Pazhavanthangal subway system is on full capacity for traffic, as cars are unable to turn left and exit, unlike most of the other subways in Chennai, where cars have the opportunity to disperse traffic smoothly.

The area around Vembuli Amman Koil Street has cars bypassing the intended flow and going against the flow of traffic in order to get to College Road, creating an environment that is hazardous for pedestrians and children.

Pazhavanthangal subway continues to be utilized after it was built 1997 and until today has not had any upgrades to facilitate the increasing demands placed on it.

Of the 17 residential buildings affected by the alignment, owners of 14 have already given no-objection certificates, reducing hurdles and speeding up the land acquisition process.

Local residents said earlier representations were often dismissed as unfeasible or unfunded, making the present sanction a major breakthrough that could benefit commuters, schoolchildren and senior citizens alike.