Newly relaid road in north Chennai presents a rough ride – The Hindu

A road that was relaid a few months ago is back to being a nightmare for hundreds of road-users. The stretch of Dr. Ambedkar College Road at the Ganeshapuram subway is again ridden with potholes, giving motorists not only a back-breaking ride but also a risky one.

For a stretch that has remained damaged for several years, the relaying came as a relief to residents of various parts of north Chennai who regularly travel on it. But the new surface wore off too soon during the rain, the road-users said. A resident of Ganeshapuram said the road from the subway to the Kannigapuram playground was perennially in a battered state.

“It was relaid three to four months ago. As the rain started, the surface began wearing off. Now the condition is worse than before. It is unsafe to take children on the two-wheeler as there is a risk of our falling while trying to ride on this pothole-ridden stretch. As a result, vehicles move very slowly, resulting in traffic jams at peak hours,” he said.

Inundation is nothing new at the subway, the road-users point out. When it rains, the potholes go under water making it difficult for the road-users. As Vignesh, a resident of MKB Nagar, puts it, “It is a back-breaking and risky ride. If a motorist who is new to this stretch rides on it, he/she will not know where the potholes are…”

N. Umpathy, a Kalyanapuram resident, said, “I used to travel to Basin Bridge through Sathyamurthy Nagar Main Road. But after traffic was diverted on Basin Bridge Road, I had to go through the Ganeshapuram subway. It is very difficult to commute on this stretch regularly…” A Greater Chennai Corporation official said all road works would resume after monsoon.