Following work relating to five culverts, a section of Surapet Main Road in Ambattur Old Town is being widened. The exercise is being carried out between New Velammal Colony and Surapet, which accounts for two kilometres of the road
For the last one week, as part of the preliminary work, earth on both sides of this stretch have been scooped out, up to a depth of two feet, and the trench so created filled with blue metal and then levelled. Encroachments including petty shops and illegal structures, have been torn down. A few Tangedco poles have been relocated to the extreme ends of the stretch.
“The widening work will be completed in a few months,” says an official of the State Highways Department official.
Motorists complain that lack of signboards alerting them to the road widening work and absence of streetlights are posing a challenge to them.
After it is widened, Surapet Main Road will be four-lane and 60 feet wide. The widened sections will be provided with LED streetlights, median, reflectors and stormwater drains, says the official. A few years ago, a section of Surapet Main Road, between Rakkee Theatre in Ambattur and the police checkpost in Surapet, was widened. The exercise could not be extended to the rest of the road due to due to lack of funds. Before the current widening work got under way, the State Highways Department completed the work on culverts that would discharge excess rainwater from Puzhal lake to the Cooum river through a series of water channels.
The stretch is a key route for MTC buses between Ambattur and Red Hills. As the ongoing flyover work at Retteri has made for chaotic traffic at Jawaharlal Nehru (J.N) Main Road, motorists from the city’s western outskirts find it convenient to use Surapet Main Road to reach the city in a short time.