Due to repairs carried out on the newly-widened stormwater drain on Third Main Road, between Ambattur Telephone Exchange junction and Nolambur, below the Chennai Bypass Road, a section of the road poses a challenge to motorists. With the onset of the north-east monsoon, Greater Chennai Corporation has not relaid the damaged portion.
“At night, this stretch is a nightmare; we cannot see the damaged portion of the road clearly. Besides, container lorries and other large vehicles also ply on this road, which subjects it to further damage,” says B. Chandran, a motorist from Mogappair.
Hundreds of container lorries and trailers go down Third Main Road in Ambattur to reach various parts of the city. Goods-laden lorries enter the industrial units in Ambattur, Pattaravakkam, Korattur, Mannurpet, Athipet and Ayapakkam.
For regular motorists, the stretch signifies a short route to Anna Nagar and Tirumangalam from Ambattur, Mannurpet, Thirumullavoyal, J.J. Nagar and Maduravoyal.
Motorists coming from the interior parts of Mogappair East, Ambattur, Padi, Korattur, Nolambur, Anna Nagar west use the road to reach places like Maduravoyal, Porur and Tambaram via the Chennai Bypass Road. The stretch is the only link to Chennai Bypass Road, which connects Puzhal with Tambaram.
The repair works on the road have damaged the surface of the road, with the bitumen eroding away, and the road developing potholes.
Due to an almost continuous flow of vehicular traffic, the potholes have only widened. Interestingly, unlike other stretches in Ambattur, Third Main Road comes under the limits of Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) of the State government due to the presence of an industrial estate and also under the jurisdiction of Zone — 7 (Ambattur) Greater of Chennai Corporation in terms of its maintenance.
It should be noted that Third Main Road in Ambattur along with other roads in the Ambattur zone got widened stormwater drains under the Integrated Storm Water Drain project last year.
“Steps will be taken to relay the damaged portion of the stretch soon,” says a Corporation official.
