Traffic Chaos Grips Pattabiram as Overbridge Project Lags
In Pattabiram, a suburb of Chennai, residents are enduring a daily ordeal of traffic chaos, with school students among the hardest hit. The root cause is the prolonged delay in completing the second arm of the Pattabiram road overbridge (ROB) on the busy Chennai-Tirupati NH 205 highway. Originally planned as a 780-meter-long, 11-meter-wide, six-lane bridge connecting Pattabiram and Thiruninravur, it serves over one lakh commuters daily. However, only one arm—5.5 meters wide and leading towards Thiruninravur—was opened to two-way traffic in September 2024, leaving the second arm towards Pattabiram incomplete.
Severe Congestion and Increased Travel Times
As a result, all vehicles are forced to use the single operational arm, leading to severe congestion, especially during peak hours. Residents report that travel time has increased significantly, exacerbating daily commutes. T Sadagopan, a civic activist from the locality, highlighted the worsening situation, stating, "It gets worse if a vehicle breaks down on the flyover." The congestion is further compounded by a narrow junction near the Pattabiram police station on CTH Road, where buses struggle to enter the narrow service road leading to the bus terminus located beneath the flyover.
Infrastructure Challenges and Proposed Solutions
A Roy Rosario, founder of People's Voice Federation, pointed out additional infrastructure issues. He noted that there is no provision on CTH Road for heavy vehicles to take U-turns, except at the Nemilichery intersection of the 400-Ft Outer Ring Road and near a few petrol pumps. "This hampers efforts to restore bus routes from Pattabiram to Sriperumbudur and Minjur via Outer Ring Road," he explained. Rosario proposed constructing a roundabout near the Pattabiram Police Station to enable buses to take U-turns more easily, which could reduce commuter waiting times and alleviate traffic woes.
Funding and Official Responses
Rosario also alleged contradictory responses from the highways department to his RTI queries. "In 2024, officials said the proposed roundabout would be constructed shortly. However, in a 2025 reply, the department said no funds had been sanctioned for the project," he revealed. The state government allocated 78.35 crore for the ROB project in 2022, which has already been spent. An additional 13.5 crore has now been sanctioned to complete the remaining work. Despite repeated attempts, highways department officials were unavailable for comment, leaving residents in limbo.
The incomplete infrastructure continues to disrupt daily life, with no clear timeline for resolution, underscoring the urgent need for effective governance and project completion to restore normalcy for Pattabiram's commuters.
