OMR barely passable; potholes slow down traffic

Several important roads in the city including Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai, Medavakkam – Sholinganallur Road, and Arcot Road have borne the brunt of five days of rain from cyclone Ditwah and the ensuing systems in the Bay. They are slowing traffic flow, causing stress to motorists who also face hardships due to  potholes that have appeared on recently-laid surfaces.  

Vijay Karthick of Perumbakkam, said that it had been hardly a month since Rajiv Gandhi Salai was re-laid and potholes repaired but blue metal from the road has come off in patches, as if it was just put there without any binder. “I was thinking that the road was being repaired only to be torn asunder by rains soon and that has come true now. I am avoiding taking OMR and instead traveling via ECR, which surprisingly, has no sign of any damage despite the rains,” he said. On OMR, the joints between the service lane and the main carriageway have water logging issues and the blue metal has come undone in some places like Dollar Biscuit near Sholinganallur.  

FOMRRA co-founder Harsha Koda said, “OMR is in shambles, battered with water stagnation everywhere, and entire stretches barely passable. Every time I hear about another grand government project, I can’t help but wonder whether that money would be better spent repairing and maintaining the infrastructure we already have instead of pouring it into new flyovers, bridges, convention centers, or sports arenas. OMR was envisioned about 25 years ago and has been operational for nearly two decades, yet the construction quality feels so poor that even a normal monsoon, not a cyclone, can bring it to its knees.”  

Sections of Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai that join OMR and ECR are in bad shape. So are, parts of Medavakkam – Sholinganallur Road.  “This happens when the old and new portions of the road come apart. In some places large potholes have developed. This is due to large vehicles trying to speed their way through these patches,” explained a retired engineer. On Arcot Road, one could very clearly see where the road was re-laid recently. The older portions seemed to have managed better than the newer stretches.   

Engineers of Tamil Nadu Road Development Company that maintains OMR, said that the surface on about four kilometres of road that they had re-laid recently, have not suffered much damage. The works carried out by CMRL have been damaged due to the final two layers of road not being laid. “Those were only temporary works meant to make the road motorable. After a day’s sunlight, repairs will be taken up,” said a source.