A section of Fifth Avenue Main Road in Anna Nagar is finally being relaid by Zone-8 of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), ten months after Chennai Metrowater dug it up to lay water pipelines.
This development follows a series of complaints by residents of the locality. GCC Commissioner G. Prakash also made a surprise visit last month to asses the extent of damage to the road.
The damaged portion of the stretch, where a 20-feet-deep trench had been dug to lay water pipelines, has been levelled with blue metal and is being relaid. Milling for a distance of 950 metres has been done as part of the preliminary work. In the coming days, the stretch will be bitumen-topped.
“The re-laying of the road is a welcome measure. The civic body should also prevent parking of school vans and buses along the stretch as Fifth Avenue Road is widely used by walkers,” says S. Pandian, a long-time resident of the neighbourhood who has taken the issue to the civic body along with other residents.
As part of the pipe-laying work, a 20-feet deep trench was dug on the Fifth Avenue Main Road, which is around 950 metres long.
Of the 950 metres, Metrowater laid new pipelines for 600 metres. While work on the 600 metres was completed within a fortnight, the rest was undertaken a few months later. Since then, the stretch has remained sandy and uneven.
Month-long work
“The entire re-laying of the work with bitumen will be completed in a month depending on the availability of bitumen.
Illegal parking will also be stopped once the stretch is re-laid as vehicles will start to use the stretch as a two-way route,” said a Corporation official from the zone.