Medavakkam Main Road damaged yet again
CHENNAI: Just as motorists and pedestrians heaved a sigh of relief after the three-km stretch between Vanuvampettai and Kilkattalai (on Medavakkam Main Road) was widened, portions of the newly-laid road have been damaged and the road has again become ridden with potholes.
One of the busiest stretches in the city, Medavakkam Main Road links suburbs such as Madipakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Ullagaram and Kovilambakkam with metropolitan areas. Jason Raj, who runs a departmental store in the region, said, “Work on the Vanuvampettai-Kilkattalai stretch began a couple of years ago and there has been a lot of inconvenience ever since.
Just when we thought the widened roads would ease traffic congestion, the roads got damaged again, and the rains made things worse.” The widening of Medavakkam Main Road between St Thomas Mount station and Koot Road junction near Quaid-E-Milleth Government College (totally nine km) was undertaken by the State Highways Department at a cost of Rs 14 crore. Last year, after the road relay work was completed, the road was dug up again for sewage work, inviting flak from the locals.
“Since then, the streetlights have not been working properly. Driving on bad roads with poor illumination is risky,” said P Ramanathan, a resident of Madipakkam. “Parked vehicles dot both sides of the road. Some encroachers leave their stalls on the road at night. In the past year, many motorists crashed into electricity poles or these stalls,” said a shop owner. When contacted, an official from the Highways department said the sewage pipeline is being repaired and the road will soon be patched up.