For the last few years, a section of the busy Medavakkam Main Road has been a two-lane, narrow stretch. Though the State Highways Department took up widening of the 9.1-km road, which stretches from St. Thomas Mount subway to Medavakkam Koot Road junction, nine years ago, the work is yet to be completed.
As the road has a few narrow sections, motorists find it extremely unfriendly. Lack of a median over a considerable distance of the road, absence of signals and pedestrian-crossing at four important junctions — Vanuvampet Church, Oil Mill bus stop, Krishna Sweets near Balammal Main Road and Puzhuthivakkam Main Road junction — make the road accident-prone.
J.K. Sivan, a senior citizen from Nanganallur, says, “During rush hour, crossing the stretch is extremely challenging. People have to wait for nearly 10 minutes to reach the other side. As police personnel are not around, some motorists drive recklessly ignoring the speed limit specified for city driving. Matters take a turn for the worse during rainy season. Many parts of the road are prone to water stagnation. Motorists find them slippery.”
The neighbourhood has at least seven or eight schools and hundreds of school children use the stretch every day. “During school hours, there are traffic jams. School children walking with their cycles, instead of riding them, to reach the other side, vividly illustrates this problem,” Sivan added.
On Medavakkam Main Road, a four-lane conversion and median construction has been done only for six kilometres. These works have not been started on the remaining 3-km stretch, due to delay in the land acquisition process, which has been dragging on for nearly nine years as residents have gone to court to stall the process.
The stretch runs through nearly 8 villages and residents of all these villages have to bear the brunt of the poor road condition. Out of these localities, land acquisition has not yet been completed in Ullagaram, Puzhuthivakkam, Kovilambakkam and Vanuvampet. “Every time we represent the problem, officials say the process of land acquisition is in full swing. But this has been going on for years, making our lives miserable,” added Sivan.
Status Report
Ullagaram/Puzhuthivakkam: The Metrowater has reportedly requested the State Highways Department to put the widening work on hold as stormwater drains and sewer lines are being laid there.
Keelkattalai: Land acquisition completed; 70% of the owners have been paid compensation and payments are yet to be made to the other owners.
Vellakkal: Work on spots under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department will be started following clearance from the Department.
Moovarasempet: The road has been widened and the median constructed.
Madipakkam: From Padhala Vinayagar Koil to Koot Road, land acquisition has been completed and compensation is being paid to the owners.
Forest Department approval: Plans are on to get approval for widening of three other roads that also come under Forest Department — Ponmar Road, near Mambakkam, Tambaram-Velachery Road, near Santhoshpuram junction and Medavakkam Main Road, near Nanmangalam Reserve Forest. If we get a green signal from the Department, work would start simultaneously on all the three roads.
Future plans: Once Medavakkam Main Road is widened, stormwater drain would be laid and footpaths constructed above the drain. EB poles in the middle of the road will be shifted.
