A car overturned after a large sinkhole opened on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, or OMR, near Tidel Park in Taramani on Thursday, disrupting traffic on one of Chennai’s busiest technology corridors. The two occupants, a man and a woman, escaped without injuries after the vehicle became trapped upside down in the crater.
The car was travelling towards Tidel Park from Madhya Kailash when a section of the road suddenly gave way. The driver and passenger were helped out by bystanders and nearby traffic police, according to eyewitnesses and police. No major injuries were reported.
Officials said the collapse was caused by the failure of an old 2.2-metre prestressed cement concrete sewage main line located about three metres below the road. The line reportedly gave way at a joint, allowing soil to erode and creating the cavity beneath the carriageway.
The incident brought traffic to a halt and threw movement on the OMR stretch out of gear. The road is part of Chennai’s IT corridor and carries daily traffic towards Taramani, Tidel Park and other employment areas. The source report said the stretch has experienced repeated cave-ins in recent months, adding to concerns about the condition of underground infrastructure beneath the corridor.
Teams from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, known as Metrowater, and the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company have barricaded the affected section and begun repair work. The response includes backfilling the cavity and carrying out concrete grouting to stabilise the ground and restore the road surface.
The incident also highlights the operational risks created when ageing utility lines run beneath heavily used urban roads. A failure in the sewage main did not remain confined to the underground network; it led to soil loss, a road collapse, vehicle damage and traffic disruption on a key east Chennai connection.
The Guindy Traffic Wing is investigating the incident. Further movement on the affected stretch will depend on the completion of the repair and stabilisation work by the Metrowater and TNRDC teams.
