The road from Pettah to Medical College, one of three main approach roads to hospitals in the Medical College vicinity, is riddled with potholes and bad patches, giving a harrowing time to motorists on the 2-km stretch.
Pot holes and broken roads at crucial junctions such as Kannamoola, Kumarapuram, and the area close to Medical College police station have affected quick movement of accident victims and the sick to the Medical College Hospital, Regional Cancer Centre, and the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology.
Vehicles move bumper to bumper on the stretch delaying the movement of ambulances and other vehicles.
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Stoppage for buses
During the morning and evening peak hours, vehicles queue up as motorists negotiate the potholes and the bad stretches. Stoppage for KSRTC and private buses at the designated bus stops located close to the junctions and piling of granite are other obstacles in the way of motorists.
Water-logging coupled with potholes has had a cascading effect on traffic movement. The narrow road is also used by those arriving from the southern side of the district to the RCC, SCTIMST and Medical College Hospital.
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Not included in CRIP
The local people complain that the Public Works Department has not taken steps to strengthen the road to cope with the increase in the volume of traffic. The road also did not find a place in the City Road Improvement project even as two other approach roads from Pattom and Uloor were included.
“Barring laying of fresh layers of bitumen at some spots, there have been no concerted efforts to strengthen the foundation of the road, by way of reconstruction,” a road user said.
A PWD official said the bad patches on the road had come to the department’s notice and resurfacing work would be taken up in “bits” after a let-up in the rain. The official said temporary measures had been taken to ensure the safety of road users.