The delay in having a section of Ambatur Industrial Estate Main Road — Bharat Petroleum (BP) pump and Collector Nagar junction — in Mogappair has left motorists disenchanted. With volume of vehicles passing through this section having increased after after easing of lockdown restrictions since June 1, the poor state of the road is acutely felt.
Lack of adequate workmen, State Highways officials point out, is the reason for the delay in taking up road-mending work.
Residents and motorists said that this stretch of the road was dug a few months ago before the first lockdown came into force in March this year, to lay high-power underground cables by the local Tangedco to prevent power fluctuations and unscheduled power cuts in adjoining areas including Nolambur, Officers' Colony, Mogappair, Collector Nagar, J.J. Nagar and Padi Pudhunagar.
Work to relay the cables was carried out without any interruptions prior the shutdown in March. However, the trench that had been dug for the cable-laying work was levelled with leftover sand and there was no effort to relay the patch with bitumen.
“As there wasn’t any vehicular movement during the complete lockdown for two and a half months, there were no complaints. However, with motorists using the stretch for the past few days, it is a different matter altogether now,” says V. Rajagopal, president, Anna Nagar Western Extension Phase — II Residents Welfare Association. Motorists also point out that due to improper levelling of the trench, especially using coarse sand, is making it skid-prone. Further, traffic police personnel are deployed only at key intersections including Tirumangalam junction below the flyover, and the rest of the traffic signals on the stretch are left unmanned.
Rash driving has also become common on the stretch.
“Steps will be taken soon to have the damaged portion mended,” says a State Highways official.