Haphazard parking of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses on the RMS-Thampanoor stretch of the NH 66 even months after the commissioning of the new bus terminal leads to traffic congestion on the stretch.
Chaotic scenes prevail on the stretch during peak hours and motorists and pedestrians moving to the central railway station and bus terminal are the worst hit.
Although the Overbridge-Thampanoor stretch of the road has been made six lane, road users are not getting the benefit of the 24-m wide stretch. Inability of the RTC to shift the fleet operations to the terminal, and the bus shelters are leading to traffic snarls on the 600-m stretch.
Vehicular traffic comes to a standstill when buses of the KSRTC and from Tamil Nadu take a U-turn near Hotel Chaithram. Traffic police personnel and traffic wardens have a tough time regulating traffic and ensuring safe crossing of pedestrians.
Installing solar-powered traffic signal near the RMS junction will bring some respite.
Project Director of Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL) Anil Kumar Pandala said that the final layer of bitumen coat on the road and profile correction would be taken up only after the bus operations were shifted to the terminal.
The company had submitted the proposal to install solar-powered traffic light at RMS junction to the Kerala Road Fund Board. The traffic signal near RMS, where three roads meet, was not yet included in the project.
TRDCL has asked the KSRTC authorities to work out ways to avoid U-turn of buses in the road to ensure free flow of traffic. Island formation, finishing work on the median and footpath were progressing on the stretch, he said.
Source: The Hindu
