CHENNAI: Anna Salai, or Mount Road, is a city landmark by itself. The 15-km stretch, connecting the old commercial centre of Parry’s Corner in the North, with the now-bustling industrial area Guindy in the South, is one of the most-important roads. Though it has the status of NH, it’s as battered and bruised as any other city road. Potholes, loose gravel, and lack of median markers, are a common sight. Express reporter Omjasvin M D and lensman R Satish Babu travelled to survey road condition.
Thousand Lights
Spencer Plaza
Technically, Mount Road is supposed to be a six-way road. But, thanks to unauthorised parking of vehicles, it has been reduced to a four-way road on many stretches. This results in traffic congestion.
Bus commuters too are hassled, as sewage flows freely on to the road near Spencer Plaza. The stretch between LIC and Thousands Lights was made two-way in August. But since then, a traffic signal has not been installed at the two junctions.
Teynampet
Lane separators painted in white or yellow are mandatory for a highway, as per the codes of Indian Roads Congress (IRC). However, in this stretch near the DMK party office, there are no lane separators, making the drive dangerous for small vehicles.
Omandurar Government Estate
The road near the Government Estate Metro Station has loose gravel scattered, making it slippery for bikers. Selvan, who uses the stretch often, says the maximum speed bikers can go on here is 30 kmph. Anything higher can result in skids and accidents.
Saidapet
The road near the Saidapet bus depot is filled with potholes, bumps and dust. For, every five minutes, a bus arrives and departs from the bus stand and hundreds of passengers use it too. The road has not been patched up even after the Chennai Metro Rail was inaugurated. Loads of sand remain causing pollution.
near LIC building
The roads around the iconic building, which once was a landmark for Chennai, are in bad shape. Underground electric line works have been delayed, causing chaos. The road has been dug up, and there are no signs of it being closed any time soon.