CHENNAI: The second phase of traffic diversions for the Metro Rail project along Anna Salai created chaos on Saturday, as commuters near Gemini Flyover were left confused and traffic policemen were forced into overdrive regulating the pile-up of vehicles after the arterial road was made one-way. Diversions at some junctions were changed in the afternoon, leading to confusion, especially along North Boag Road. “We had two-way traffic in Anna Salai in the morning but that led to congestion. One of the lanes was small and led to traffic jams. That was why Anna Salai was made one-way,” a police official explained.Motorists coming from Guindy towards Thousand Lights were annoyed as they had to navigate via North Boag Road, T Nagar to reach Gemini Flyover through GN Chetty road. Traffic at the narrow North Boag Road moved at snail’s pace, and bike riders annoyed pedestrians by taking to the pavements. Angry commuters questioned traffic policemen“It took more than 20 minutes for me to reach Gemini Flyover from Teynampet signal. It would otherwise take hardly five minutes,” said Ganesh, a private company employee. Residents living around North Boag Road - that usually has very low traffic - were shocked to see the commotion. “I cannot even take my car out of the gate,” said Pavithra, a resident.Motorists coming from the other direction, from Gemini Flyover towards Guindy, were also stuck as there was chaos on the roads connecting Anna Salai to Kotturpuram.Motorists were not allowed to take Vijayaraghava Road (VR Road) from Anna Salai to get to T Nagar. Instead traffic was flowing out of the VR Road from T Nagar to Anna Salai. Later, that diversion was changed and commuters from Anna Salai were allowed to take VR Road.“This diversion will be in place for one week, after which the work moves to Nandanam Junction where we will make some diversions. We will inform the public about it,” said Sanjay Arora, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
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