Chennai’s long-pending elevated corridor between Light House and Adyar has been revived with a redesigned 4km route along Santhome High Road, Greenways Road and up to the Thiru Vi Ka bridge, with the state highways department floating a tender for its detailed project report (DPR).
The DPR will cost ₹38 lakh and is expected to be completed within two months, according to senior highways officials cited in the report. The proposed corridor will begin near Light House and connect to the Thiru Vi Ka bridge across the Adyar river. The project was announced by highways minister Aadhav Arjuna.
The revised design shifts the project away from the earlier sea-link proposal. The elevated structure will run along the road-side section of Santhome High Road and will not touch Marina Loop Road, officials said. The change addresses constraints identified in the earlier plan, including the need to relocate around 3,000 fishermen families in Srinivasapuram for a proposed link through Besant Nagar Broken Bridge.
The new alignment will still face land-related challenges. Officials said the carriageway is narrow in parts of the Santhome High Road stretch and that land acquisition may be required for about 30% of the corridor. The right of way beyond Santhome High Road, including the sections towards Greenways Road and the Thiru Vi Ka bridge, is considered adequate.
The corridor is intended to address congestion on the route towards Adyar, the Old Mahabalipuram Road, East Coast Road and Guindy, as well as traffic returning towards Kamarajar Salai. Officials said it currently takes about 30 minutes to cross the 4km stretch during peak hours and approximately 20 minutes at other times.
Construction planning will also have to account for the project’s coastal setting. A highways official said rust formation is faster in the sea-side area and that concrete may therefore be used for the elevated corridor. The material choice will be examined as part of the DPR process, based on the supplied project details.
Traffic diversions are expected during construction. Vehicles travelling towards Adyar, OMR, ECR and Guindy, along with returning traffic heading towards Kamarajar Salai, will be diverted through Loop Road, officials said. The report does not specify the construction start date, project cost beyond the DPR tender, or the completion timeline for the elevated structure.
The revived proposal is part of a broader highways department approach to developing elevated corridors longer than 5km. Officials also referred to planned projects between Padi and Thirunindravur, Madhavaram and Sholavaram, and Kilambakkam and Mahindra City. The immediate next step for the Light House–Adyar corridor is completion of the DPR within the two-month tender timeline.
