Hundreds of commuters were stranded in traffic on Anna Salai near Church Park School as a portion of the road caved in and foam overflowed due to tunnelling carried out for the underground stretch of the Chennai Metro Rail.
This is not the first time that stretches have caved in owing to tunnelling work. However, on this occasion, the location of the cave-in led to traffic being thrown out of gear for a few hours.
Tunnelling pressure
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the foam gushed out under tunnelling pressure. “The soil was loose. Since we carry out tunnelling work under some pressure, the soil gave way and the foam used for tunnelling overflowed on the road. We are in the process of carrying out repairs,” an official said. Two tunnel boring machines (TBM) have been boring from the Government Estate to AG-DMS for several months now and the work is likely to be completed in about three months.
Commuters struggled for over two hours since vehicles were allowed only on one lane near Church Park School.
Traffic police said motorists were diverted through other roads briefly after which traffic was restored. But a small portion of the road close to where the incident happened is still covered as repair work is on.
