Chennai’s Tambaram-Velachery Road has become hazardous for motorists after months of delayed drinking-water pipeline work left sections covered in mud, slush, potholes and rainwater, with an ambulance overturning on Tuesday and injuring its driver and a nurse.
The pipeline is being laid by the Metrowater department to carry drinking water from the Nemmeli desalination plant to the city. The work begins at Tambaram East and runs through Selaiyur, Camp Road, Sembakkam, Medavakkam and Pallikaranai before reaching Anna Road at Guindy.
The road is an alternative route to GST Road and is used by residents, students, shoppers and other commuters. Educational institutions, residential areas and shopping malls are located along the corridor, increasing the impact of the deteriorating road surface on daily movement.
The road has been dug up on one side to accommodate the large water pipelines. According to the report, sections where the work has been completed have not been closed properly, while several stretches continue to have cracks and potholes. Rain over the past few days has worsened the conditions, turning exposed soil into slippery mud and filling potholes with water that hides their depth from road-users.
The ambulance accident took place on Tuesday after the driver lost control of the vehicle. The ambulance hit a roadside wall and overturned. Local people rescued the injured driver and nurse and sent them to Tambaram district headquarters hospital.
Motorists have also reported long vehicle queues at several points along the route. Riders and drivers are moving slowly through the slush and potholes, reducing traffic speed and adding to congestion on a corridor that functions as an important alternative to GST Road.
The delay has created an administrative gap between the utility work and road restoration. Highways officials said the road could not be re-laid until the pipeline work was completed and the stretch was handed back to them. They said they had asked Metrowater authorities to finish the pipe-laying work soon.
The highways department said it would re-lay the road after the pipes were installed and the work area was handed over. The report did not specify a completion date for either the pipeline installation or the subsequent road restoration, leaving commuters dependent on the pace of the ongoing utility project.
