Ongoing underground sewerage work and a badly damaged carriageway have increased peak-hour travel time on a 3.5-km stretch of Chennai’s Velachery-Tambaram High Road from about 15 minutes to nearly 40 minutes, affecting motorists, pedestrians and public transport users.
The affected section runs from the eastern entrance of Tambaram railway station to Camp Road junction. The road has remained covered with patches and potholes for more than three months, while parts of the carriageway have been dug up for underground sewerage connections being executed by Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, or Metrowater.
The road was originally about 80 feet wide but has been reduced to roughly 40 feet of usable carriageway at several points. The remaining area is either under excavation or has become a mud-and-sand surface. The corridor carries around 1,000 vehicles an hour and provides an important link between GST Road and Velachery through Medavakkam and Pallikaranai.
The sewerage work includes connections to areas such as Selaiyur, Valmiki Street and interior parts of Chromepet. Metrowater officials said the work had not stalled and that 75% of the project had been completed. The remaining work is expected to be finished by mid-October.
Residents said the uneven road surface was creating particular risks for two-wheeler riders. S Madhan Kumar, a Gandhi Nagar resident, said at least 10 bikers skid and fall every day. He said one side of the road was at least a foot lower than the other, forcing riders towards the mud and uneven surface when buses occupied the better portion of the carriageway.
The condition of the road is also affecting pedestrians. Residents said the stretch does not have a continuous pavement or a dedicated pedestrian crossing facility. Mohammed Shamsudeed, a resident, said people had been requesting pavements up to Camp Road junction for more than three years. He also raised concerns about roadside eateries using portions of the road for parking and the absence of a skywalk for crossing.
The disruption reflects the difficulty of keeping a major urban corridor functional when utility construction and road restoration are carried out in stages. With the usable carriageway narrowed and pedestrians sharing space with moving traffic, the current work zone is affecting both movement and safety along a route connecting railway, bus and residential areas.
M Thirunavukarasu, divisional engineer with the highways department, said the areas where work was under way had been barricaded. He said the road would be relaid and the patches fixed after the sewerage work was completed. The mid-October completion target and the subsequent relaying of the road are the next milestones for restoring normal movement on the corridor.
