Near Adyar creek, DGS Dinakaran Salai was “shaved off” around the edges on the western side, resulting in a reduced carriageway. For weeks (quite a number of weeks), during rush hour, vehicles squeezed through this section, the drivers hoping these machines had the boneless flexibility of an octopus.
The work (which is ongoing) pertains to replacement of the old culvert, one of brick-and-mortar variety, with a modern, concrete culvert. The old culvert, harking back to a considerably old time zone, being narrow was not enabling optimal water flow, a failing that would prove debilitating during floods when it would have to deal with a greater volume of water rushing in noticeably.
The culvert work is being carried out by Greater Chennai Corporation.
The work has now made further inroads, having moved on to the other side. Even on the side it has been completed, there is still some more of the work to be finished. Now traffic moving both ways do so around the completed section of the culvert, which has been barricaded. Around the work site, the wall along the Adyar creek had been removed, and a row of metal barricade covered with UV green cloth has been erected. On the barricades, defined by UV green cloth, strips of red LED lights have been run so that motorists do not run into them at night.
Contrary to what was expected when the new traffic movement was put in place, there is no significant logjams except during times when the vehicle volume in overwhelmingly high.
