New deadline for Chennai-Tirupati NH widening project

Widening of the Chennai Tirupathi access-controlled National Highway 716 is expected to be completed by March 2027 with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) setting a fresh date for completion of the project. 

Sources in the NHAI said that land acquisition issues still dog the project, especially where almost 600 metres of service lane is yet to be finished. A few temples that fell along the brownfield road were either moved or demolished to be rebuilt elsewhere. This led to protests. In some cases, only small portions of temple properties were taken for the road. 

“We have completed over 40% of the works and in many places the main carriageway is in use. The previous deadline was the end of this year. The contractor showed slow progress due to high bitumen prices. But that has now been sorted out,” said an official source. 

Former MLA E.S.S. Raman said that there was a need to speed up the project to ensure safety of road users. “Since it is an existing road that is being widened, thousands of people working in industrial units, companies, and educational institutions from Padi to Thiruninravur, Kakkalur take this road. They travel by two-wheelers. As the main carriageway is smooth, people speed up and accidents happen. If the service lanes are completed, smaller vehicles will take those, preventing untoward incidents,” he said. 

The widening commences a little after Thiruninravur near Veppampattu. “Till Tiruvallur, the four-lanes have been completed. We did not see service lanes in many places. But after that, the work is still underway. In some places there is no BT layer, just rough surfaces. The road width is only of two lanes, leading to slow traffic. You cannot drive uniformly. You have to keep switching lanes and sides. There are not enough sign boards indicating nearby towns,” said Aravind, who recently took the road.