The re-laying work is done only during night between 11.30 p.m. and 5 a.m. Photo: Special arrangement
The Highways Department has asked contractors to speed up re-laying of roads that have been cold-milled.
At present, stretches on Poonamallee High Road and Anna Salai are being re-laid by scrapping off the top layer. The instruction was given since the contractors had not re-laid a few stretches of the roads for over a week, inconveniencing motorists.
S. Anuja, a resident of Choolaimedu, said she had been using Poonamallee High Road and for a week now a stretch beyond a nearby mall had been milled. “I was afraid to ride my two-wheeler since I felt I may lose control and fall, especially since we keep reading about such incidents happening,” she said.
“The depth to which it is scrapped differs from place to place and it depends on the strength of the road. When the top layer wears off, it is re-laid and cold milling is done to ensure that the height of the road does not increase. The Chief Secretary had directed us to ensure cold-milling is done,” an official said.
The work is being carried out partly due to the fact that stretches of roads are due for surface renewal and since they have been damaged during the monsoon and have been patched up. The work is done only during night between 11.30 p.m. and 5 a.m., and the equipment covers around 500 m per night since the road is three to four lanes wide. At present, around 2 km of road length is being re-laid on Poonamallee high road.
On Anna Salai, the 1,600-m stretch at Teynampet costs ₹2 crore to re-lay, and for the 1,600-m stretch on GST Road from Chrompet Government Hospital to MEPZ, the cost is ₹2 crore. On Poonamallee High Road, a 4-km stretch near Aminjikarai costs ₹4 crore to re-lay. The machinery can mill 2,000 sq.m per day and can re-lay 3,000-4,000 sq.m per day.