There seems to be no end to the ordeals faced by motorists who travel on the pothole- ridden Padi and Thiruninravur stretch on Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road.
The road between Padi flyover and Canara Bank bus stop in Ambattur is in a bad condition and there is little space for motorists to drive on.
“Though officials and workers had filled the potholes with raw debris, the problems persist,” said T. Gunaseelan of Varadharajapuram, Ambattur.
The gaping holes on the road were not properly filled with the correct size of gravel and left without a tar top. Motorists risk their lives driving on uneven surface and face the danger of being hit by speeding heavy vehicles, he said.
The protruding stones are a cause of concern for motorists driving during late hours near Canara Bank and Ambattur Telephone Exchange.
No barricade on bridge
The problem of lack of barricade on the narrow bridge while travelling from Ambattur O.T. side needs to be addressed by the NHAI and the Railways. Widening it into a four-lane bridge would ease the traffic on this important stretch, Mr. Gunaseelan said.
“The road from TI Miller to telephone exchange road should be blacktopped to prevent dust and pollution,” said M.S. Swaminathan, another motorist.
Though repeated representations were made to repair the crater-filled stretches, the road has seen little improvement in the past two years, he added.
“During the Assembly elections 2011, all candidates promised to work on improving the road conditions, but repair work is yet to kick start,” says S. Subbulakshmi, a flower vendor.
Motorists cite poor illumination and absence of median on many stretches as reasons for the increase in the number of accidents.
“Adding to these, poor road conditions also make life miserable for the road users,” said S. Kumar of Korattur Agraharam.
“I have been travelling on this stretch for many years. Except for some efforts to widen the road in some pockets, there has been no visible improvements in the road condition,” he said.
Victims
Policemen manning this stretch said that nearly 80 per cent of the accident victims were two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. Absence of pavements, insufficient streetlights and poor road engineering are some of the factors behind it.
“Our officials have approached the NHAI authorities asking them to repair as well as widen this vital link road, which connects Chennai with Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh via Tiruvallur and Tiruthani,” they said.
With no signs of widening the CTH Road in the immediate future, the NHAI should at least make the road motorable, said many road users.
