Strewn with blue metal, a section of carriageway on Surapet Main Road in Oragadam near Ambattur, does not make for a comfortable roadtrip. Motorcyclists blame the culvert work taken up by the State Highways Department three months ago for the uncleared bitumen lying on the road.
Traffic police personnel point out that accidents including minor ones are being reported from this damaged carriageway, especially at night, as motorcyclists are unable to see the stretch clearly.
The culvert work was a major monsoon-preparedness measure by the Department that it undertook after widening the stormwater drains on the stretch last year.
“The blue metal lying all over the damaged portion exposes motorcyclists to skidding accidents at night. The stretch should be relaid with other safety measures like zebra markings reflectors to ensure all road users’ safety,” says K. Prakash, a motorist from Puzhal.
Six culverts have been built on Surapet Main Road.
At Oragadam, the damaged portion of the stretch on the new culvert was not even levelled properly after the work was carried out — blue metal was just spread across it.
Over the last few months, movement of vehicles has made the damaged portion even more uneven with the blue metal spillin onto the carriageway. The stretch has turned slippery due to sudden showers.
The Oragadam junction is the key traffic point on the 8-km-long Surapet Main Road that connects Ambattur with Puzhal near the Central Prison there.
“Steps will be taken to have the damaged portion of the stretch relaid soon,” says an official of the State Highways Department.