The battered patches at Thattaparai junction on expressway - NH 7 A (Tuticorin-Palayamkottai Bypass) has been giving a nightmarish drive for vehicle users throughout this year, who often take the busy road.
The very purpose of the expressway to facilitate vehicle users drive unhindered along the road had not been served.
Despite being aware of the poor condition of the road, toll is being collected from the road users, who had a long-pending grouse that they were being fleeced by concessionaires ignoring the stretches of such battered national highways.
This stretch was actually accident prone.
S. Marimuthu said he slammed the brakes of his car just ahead of the damaged stretch to avoid any risk of accident.
There was no signboard or caution and the situation turns even worse during late evenings and night hours sans lights, he also said.
It was a scary ride for two-wheeler users also as speedy ride tends to give them a jump off the stretch.
A frequent commuter, R. Gunasekaran of Palayamkottai said apart from light vehicles, this expressway was being used by public transport and other heavy vehicles including container trucks to access seaport in Tuticorin.
The removal of the toll plaza and the concrete structures at Thattaparai junction along this 47-km stretch, after residents objected to its functioning, created this bad condition of the road.
Though the toll plaza was shifted to Vagaikulam last year, no patch work had been done to strengthen the damaged stretch, so far.
Since a large number of commuters, mostly people from Tirunelveli, were travelling to Tuticorin, remedial works should be taken up on a war footing to help the road users.
Further, he said recently, the Supreme Court had passed a ruling that NHAI and concessionaires should not collect toll if the road is in a bad shape.
Reliable sources from NHAI told The Hindu that an urgent estimation at a cost of Rs. 41 lakh to strengthen the stretch had been forwarded to the head office at New Delhi and works would be taken up once the estimation received approval.
