Commute along battered Arcot Road gets exasperating, thanks to Chennai Metro Rail construction work
The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail's construction work on Arcot Road causes chaos for commuters, leading to safety concerns and delays.
For years now, commuters continue to endure a harrowing experience during their travel via one of the busiest roads in Chennai, Arcot Road.
Since 2021, Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II project construction work has been underway in the city. Along Arcot road, Chennai Metro Rail has been building an elevated network from Poonamallee till Kodambakkam via Vadapalani. This elevated stretch is a part of corridor 4 (Poonamallee to Light House: 26.1 km) of the phase II project and the remaining part of this corridor is being built underground from Kodambakkam till Light House.
But ever since the construction work began, from time to time, the road has been in a rather bad shape and has turned commute via Arcot Road a nightmare for travellers.
From constricted road width, craters in several sections to lack of footpath, commuters and residents have been grappling with a multitude of issues. In many parts of Arcot Road, especially near Saligramam, Vadapalani, Valasarawakkam near Kesavardhini, there are huge craters and vehicles have been struggling to navigate through this stretch.
Arumainathan, a resident of Virugambakkam who frequently travels to Vadapalani for his hospital visits or to run errands said, the commute along Arcot Road is time-consuming and exhausting.
“Because the roads are in poor shape and the width has reduced drastically, vehicle movement is slow and the congestion is quite bad during peak hours. Earlier I could reach Vadapalani in about 15 minutes, now, during peak hours, it takes half an hour, or sometimes more. It has also become impossible to walk along this road and doesn’t feel safe due to lack of footpath,” he added.
In many locations along this road, Chennai Metro Rail has removed the barricades to increase the road width marginally. But the flip side of it is, construction equipment and materials lie exposed on the road, making it dangerous particularly for two-wheelers.
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