Three years on, Chennai-Tirupati six-lane track nearing completion

Officials in the State Highways Department claim the pending work on the Chennai- Tirupati High Road (CTH) will start shortly and the project will be completed soon. The state government announced the CTH project in 2013.  

The project faced several hurdles from the inception. When government officials tried to acquire land for road expansion, they faced stiff opposition from traders and residents. After much negotiation the government was able to clear the hurdles and the State Highways Department began work on the Padi-Thirunindravur stretch. 

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) handed over this stretch of the project after facing problems with land acquisition. Likewise, the work between Thirunindravur and Thiruppachur was also given to the State Highways Department. 

“Opposition from residents and street vendors in the locality against the road-widening work compelled the NHAI to hand over segments of the project to the State Highways Department,” claimed a NHAI official, seeking anonymity. 

The delay in the project has compounded traffic woes of users in the city. Motorists have urged the authorities to finish the work within a stipulated time frame. “Because the project has been stalled for many years, heavy vehicles like trucks and trailers are plying on the city roads further adding to traffic congestion. If the Chennai- Tirupati High road is completed it would reduce traffic congestion within the city,” said K Chiranjeevi, a motorist. 

 “If the government completes the Chennai-Tirupati High Road along with all the other pending road works in a swift manner it will reduce traffic congestion faced by motorists,” says N Vikraman, a citybased civic activist.  When contacted, a State Highways (SH) official said they were taking up work on the Padi -Thirunindravur stretch, after which the work on Thirunindravur to Thirippachi would be started. 

He pointed out that roadside vendors have encroached on large sections of the stretch between Tirunindravur and Thiruppachur. “However, we are regularly monitoring the situation and are in the process reclaiming the land. We expect the SH Department to take up the work soon,” the official said.