It is more than a month since cable-laying work between Thirumullavoyal and Ambattur (along the carriageway towards Ambattur) on Chennai–Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road was completed, but the State Highways Department, which maintains the thoroughfare, has not relaid this section.
As a result, there are frequent traffic blocks there, as all the motorists want to use the undamaged portion.
Only certain sections of CTH Road have been widened. The cable-laying work was carried out between Thirumullavoyal and Ambattur, where widening work has not been taken up. And the width of this stretch is around 30 feet wide, as against the original width of 60 feet. The carriageway towards is particularly narrow due to extension of existing shops and parking of vehicles in front of them.
“As this stretch has become uneven, motorists drive slowly on the undamaged potion of the road to avoid skidding and accidents, which results in sluggish traffic movement. It takes at least half an hour to cross the 500-metre stretch near the Thirumullavoyal junction,” says K. Sarath, a motorist from Pattabiram near Avadi.
Motorists complain that the stretch is also dusty and sandy. The trench has not been closed properly. There have been instances of vehicles, including a lorry, getting struck in the closed trench.
MTC buses also halt on the undamaged portion, which aggravates the situation. Two bus stops are located on the 500-metre stretch.
And then, the Thirumullavoyal junction is narrow and buses coming from Ambattur take a right turn at the junction to enter the northern side of the neighbourhood abutting Puzhal lake. This further increases the waiting time at the junction. Despite the traffic snarls, the Thirumullavoyal junction is left with only one traffic police constable to regulate traffic.
Now, to circumvent this problem, many motorists, mainly motorcyclists, take lanes in Thirumullavoyal to reach Ambattur at Rakkie Theatre.
Now, these once-quiet lanes bustle with vehicles causing inconvenience to residents and also exposing them to a higher risk of accidents. “Steps will be taken to re-lay the damaged portion on the stretch soon,” says a State Highways Official.
