Villianur Road continues to pose risk to motorists

Motorists face accident risks on uneven, pothole-ridden Villianur Road; PWD patchwork after widening work has worsened road surface.

Motorists using the Villianur Road from Pon Nagar to Moolakulam have been facing the risk of accidents for several months now because of the uneven surface of the road. The pothole-ridden road, which is known to get waterlogged after rains, has been badly damaged for a long time.

The arterial two-lane road was widened recently from Indira Gandhi square to Moolakulam. However, the poor patchwork carried out by the Public Works Department after the widening work has rendered it uneven.

According to M. Ravichandran, a resident of Cauvery Nagar, “There has been a huge difference on the height of the road after both sides were widened. This has led to several accidents involving two-wheelers. Moreover, the PWD only takes up patchwork -- they dump concrete into the potholes and do not bother to level it. After the widening work, there are many places where the stretch joins the side roads, but these are not on the same level. This too poses a danger to vehicle users.”

Devaraj, a resident, fell from his two-wheeler recently near the Presidency School. “I applied the brakes after noticing an uneven surface and tried to steer to the levelled portion of the road. However, the bike could not negotiate the surface and skidded,” he said.

With the gap between the road surface and the recently widened portion increasing, two-wheeler riders who are not familiar with the undulations stand the risk of losing control of their vehicles, while others who move along the median have to put up with a bumpy ride. Vehicle users have also been complaining of the safety risk that such undulations pose.

“Most of the arterial roads are carpeted multiple times a year without any benefit to the users. The work is done haphazardly with the cracks filled with bitumen. Lack of supervision has led to patchy and uneven road surfaces. The PWD should relay the roads only after milling them. Laying a road on top of another would only lead to a raised road level,” said an urban planner.

A PWD official said the road would be levelled wherever there is a problem. “The Department will look into the issue,” he said.