Following last month’s deluge, motorists using Chennai-Tada Road, a National Highway, have had many grievances.
And, they are still complaining about the state of this arterial road, used by thousands of heavy vehicles.
“The road had required maintenance even before the rains but the water stagnation and heavy vehicle movement have caused it to deteriorate. We are forced to drive extremely slowly and are caught in traffic jams. On Tuesday evening, I was stuck at the Puzhal junction for over an hour. It usually takes me a few minutes to cross this point,” said K. Suresh, a resident of Anna Nagar, who takes the road daily to reach his workplace at Karanodai.
During rush hour, the road witnesses long traffic pile-ups due to potholes.
“There are potholes at every junction, leading to inordinate delays. Despite the awful road conditions and incomplete bridges, medians and widening work, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) collects toll from motorists. It should be stopped until the road is repaired,” said N. Selvakumar, a resident of Redhills.
Sources with the NHAI, which manages the road, said that since the concessionaire had wanted to opt out of the contract, the NHAI was forced to maintain the road.
“The court had asked that status quo be maintained. We have awarded a short-term contract for patch works and the repairs will start on Monday,” a source said.
