The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to begin construction on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu elevated corridor on the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road in the next few months, providing relief to vehicles travelling to central and southern parts of Tamil Nadu.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 3,523 crore.
The six-lane elevated road will start at Perungalathur and end beyond Paranur toll plaza, easing heavy traffic congestion along the busy stretch.
According to NHAI officials, the elevated corridor will help reduce accidents, as heavy vehicles including buses, trucks and cars can take the elevated road, thereby decongesting the existing stretch.
The projected traffic on the 27-km elevated corridor in 2030 would be 63,605 passenger car units (PCUs) while the at-grade road would have more than 82,100 PCUs.
The elevated corridor would have entry and exit ramps at the Kilambakkam bus terminus, Potheri near SRM College and Mahindra World City.
Chengalpattu-Tindivanam Stretch (67.1 km)
The 67.1-km-long Chengalpattu-Tindivanam stretch of the GST will be upgraded to eight lanes with service roads on both sides from the existing four lanes, and the stretch is being widened for Rs 3,458 crore.
The six-lane elevated corridor is proposed in built-up areas along the stretch including Mamandur town, Padalam junction, Karunguzhi junction, Madhurantakam town and Saram village.
The NHAI would be constructing two-lane bridges on either side of the existing Palar bridge to ease the movement of vehicles and thereby reduce congestion.
The detailed project report (DPR) for the 94-km Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch of the GST road has been completed.
Other elevated corridors
The NHAI has proposed to take up four elevated corridors, including the Maduravoyal-Sriperumbudur section (23.2 km) on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway, Madhavaram junction (10.4 km) to Outer Ring Road on the Chennai-Kolkata highway, Tambaram-Chengalpattu section (27 km) of the Grand Southern Trunk road and the Tiruchy-Thuvakudi stretch (14 km) of the Tiruchy-Thanjavur highway.