The condition of Tiruvottiyur High (TH) Road is taking a toll on the safety of motorists. In the past few months, accidents on the stretch have been steadily on the rise. The five-km stretch is ridden with potholes. On an average, police sources say, at least two accidents occur on TH Road, a state highway, every week.
Hundreds of motorists from the northern neighbourhood including Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Kasimedu, Tiruvottiyur, Toll Gate and Korrukkupet use the stretch to reach the main city via Wall Tax Road.
The 60-feet TH Road is widely used for two reasons. One, the stretch connects several important neighbourhoods. Two, TH Road is the shortest route to reach various places in north Chennai from the main city including Anna Salai and Poonamallee High Road. “The stretch is accident prone due to rash driving and encroachments on both sides of the road,” says S. Arumugam, a resident of Tondiarpet.
The slow progress of the work involving the widening of the existing two-lane TH Road into a four-lane is believed to be another reason for the chaotic traffic and rise in accidents.
The Rs. 11.5 crore-widening project began eight years ago. But the progress has been unimpressive. Corporation officials say electricity poles and transformers on either side of the five-km stretch have to be shifted. Illegal parking and dumping of construction debris on the stretch also pose risk to motorists. Though widening of the stretch at some points including near Tiruvottiyur bus terminus has been completed, work remains at many other spots. “Coordination between many state departments is necessary to execute the project. Other narrow portions of the stretch also need to be widened soon,” said a state highways official.
