The widening and re-laying of the Nookampalayam-Perumbakkam Road, which connects several residential colonies with Rajiv Gandhi Salai and Medavakkam via Perumbakkam Main Road, has finally begun.
The present width of the road, 3.75 metres, was found insufficient for the movement of heavy vehicles, including container lorries carrying building materials to the housing colonies coming up on both sides of the road.
St. Thomas Mount Block officials said the 3.3-km-long road from Arasankazhani to Perumbakkam near the village panchayat office would be widened by 5.5 metres. “The road has different measurements at different traffic points. Hence, we are taking up road widening wherever possible to ensure smooth two-way traffic up to Arasankazhani,” an official said.
Even as several roads in the city are being widened to accommodate the heavy traffic, the the Nookampalayam-Perumbakkam Road has been ignored and motorists using it find it unmotorable. IN 2015, after the floods, residents approached the departments concerned.
Vehicle density
S. Bhargavi, a college student from Perumbakkam, said the condition of the road was increasingly becoming worse as hundreds of vehicles used it every day. “When we protested against opening of a Tasmac outlet in Nookampalayam recently, we brought this issue to the notice of officials of Kancheepuram district,” she said. “Despite having enough space on both sides, the authorities did not make it a four-lane road,” she charged.
An official of the St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union said that the road would be re-laid in such a way that it does not suffer much damage even in case of floods.
