Chennai: KK Nagar road, dug up 2 years ago, motorists’ nightmare – Times of India

CHENNAI: A delay of more than two years in completing sewage pipeline work has turned Anna Main Road in KK Nagar a nightmare for motorists. The key stretch links areas such as Valasaravakkam, Ramapuram, Porur, Kodambakkam and West Mambalam.
To replace sewage pipelines after some stretches had caved in, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), popular as Metrowater, in 2019 dug up Anna Main Road and the junction with Alagirisamy Road in Nesapakkam to replace the entire pipeline on the stretch. The work has still not been completed. Last week, a man was found dead in one of the pits that Metrowater had not barricaded. The cause of death was not known.
N B Babu, a civic activist in the area, says the road becomes dangerous during the monsoon, with tyres of buses travelling towards the KK Nagar bus depot and ESI Hospital often getting stuck in the mud and causing long traffic snarls.
“The road leading to the MGR market is a busy one, providing access to important locations. With Arcot Road being blocked for metro rail work, traffic on this road has more than doubled,” he said.
Greater Chennai Corporation had sent a showcause notice to Metrowater officials, asking them to list out the action plan and when they plan to complete the work. A few months ago, another notice was issued for not barricading the construction site. “It [work] has been pending for a long time. They [Metrowater] closed the pit twice and every time it caved in again. The same happened near the Nesapakkam sewage treatment plant. We issued tenders for the work to lay the road almost a year ago. It has been pending because of Metrowater’s delay,” said a corporation official.
A Metrowater official, in charge of the area, said the work is extremely difficult as the pipelines are old and almost 30 ft below the ground level. “To dig that deep and to fill it and cover will take a lot of time. The road is also a busy stretch so there are many challenges. We are trying to complete the work by the end of this month,” said an official.
By then, point out activists, the northeast monsoon would have set in.
“How can they complete the work during the monsoon. Already two years have passed. They need to get technical experts and hire consultants to find a permanent solution for this. The roads keep caving in even after they replace pipelines,” the civic activist said.
AN APOLOGY OF A ROAD: Commuters face trauma as Metrowater work on Anna Main Road in KK Nagar has made the stretch a mess