Following complaints of uneven surfaces on the Chennai Bypass, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded the contract to relay the road. The ₹30 crore work is likely to commence in March.
The contractor will scrap the top layer of the road (called cold milling in technical parlance) and correct the profile of the road that has six lanes. “The service lanes too would be relaid. The works include marking of the road surface and installation of sign boards,” explained a source in NHAI.
The 32-km-long road connects Tambaram in the south with Madhavaram in the west and is used by motorists proceeding to Porur, Bangalore and Tiruchi. Hundreds of heavy vehicles take this bypass everyday.
Risky commute
S. Kuppusamy, a resident of Porur, who travels to Madhavaram frequently said that though the road has been designed for high speed, it was quite risky for motorists to increase speed as the vehicle starts oscillating. “The suspension is put to test and if you don’t have control you will find it difficult to drive,” he said. Though queues are a common feature at the two toll plazas, the last lanes are invariably kept closed. “The toll operators are slower than at other places like the ones on the Tiruchi or Bengaluru road,” he said.
K. Murugesh, a resident of Ambattur said that lighting on the road needed immediate attention. “They collect toll fee but there is no maintenance. There are lights only at junctions forcing motorists to depend only on the headlights,” he said. The arrangement to take an ‘U’ turn before the toll plazas to get off the main road is a bad idea, he said adding that motorists proceeding from the toll plazas are forced to wait. “At times the police make the service lanes one-way, which makes things worse,” he said .
Garbage dumped along the road near Porur is yet another problem. “The entire stretch stinks. Steps must be taken to ensure that garbage is not thrown here,” said M. Vivek, a resident of Porur.
