With many accidents being reported from the stretch that runs parallel to the MRTS line from Taramani to Velachery, Southern Railway has constructed a brick wall at the Perungudi station, near the Tasmac outlet.
The concrete barrier prevents motorists, especially drivers of four-wheelers, from going further down this road from Perungudi station to reach the link road at the Velachery station.
However, adventure-seeking motorcyclists can still be seen driving over the stormwater drain channel on this stretch.
The attraction the road holds for motorists is that it is provides a shorter route for anybody from Thiruvanmiyur and nearby areas who is seeking to reach areas beyond Velachery and Old Mahabalipuram Road.
“The barrier would be helpful for motorists who are not familiar with the road and don’t know that work around the culvert is still under way,” says Vishal, an autorickshaw driver who frequents the stretch. Southern Railway has erected a brick wall at least 100 feet before the point where the culvert work begins, thereby forcing motorists to take a diversion before travelling over much of this road.
In its September 8 issue, The Hindu Downtown carried an article “Risk of accidents high on link road”, following a fatal accident in the last week of August, in which an aspiring bike racer from Kerala hit a boulder on the section of the road near the Perungudi MRTS station and fell into a nearby pond.
Work on a culvert to prevent flooding in Velachery and surrounding areas is preventing the link road from being thrown open entirely to motorists.
Commuters say the stretch is poorly-lit and needs speed barriers.
