Eight-Lane Project Resurrected at Perungalathur to Alleviate Traffic Congestion.

To alleviate traffic congestion on the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road, the Tamil Nadu government has revived the eight-laning project and allocated ₹12.8 crore to complete the pending work on the Perungalathur flyover.

As part of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Plan (CMDP), the highway department will widen a 1.5 km stretch beneath the flyover, including the connecting approach arms, to create a uniform eight-lane roadway. This construction is scheduled for completion by mid-2025 and will involve relaying the surface with a bituminous layer.

Currently, sections of this roadway are only four lanes wide, leading to significant traffic disruptions, which are exacerbated by rainwater stagnation. The CMDP also plans to install new drainage systems and clear obstacles in the area. Furthermore, new service roads along Gandhi Road in East Tambaram will enhance access to the Chennai-Trichy highway, which accommodates over 180,000 vehicles daily.

The project will also include the completion of the flyover's fourth arm, connecting to the Tambaram Eastern Bypass. This segment has faced delays due to land acquisition issues with the forest department and the electricity board, but those issues were resolved in July, allowing tenders to be issued last week.

Local residents view the completion of this arm as crucial, particularly to eliminate gaps in the Eastern Bypass Road. "An 850-meter portion connecting to Rajakilpakkam needs immediate attention. Once completed, heavy vehicles should be restricted to the widened section below, freeing up access arms for residents to avoid congestion. If not, the flyover will remain congested," stated Dayanand Krishnan, a resident and activist from Tambaram.

Construction of the flyover began in 2010, and it currently has three operational arms: one leading to Srinivasa Raghava Nagar and two parallel to the national highway. The first arm opened in 2022, with the subsequent arms following in the following years.

However, residents remain skeptical, arguing that without addressing bottlenecks at Irumbuliyur, just a short distance away, these improvements may fall short. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had initiated work on a vehicular underpass at Irumbuliyur, but construction was halted due to roadblocks that caused further congestion.

ET