Chennai’s Rs 48-crore Sardar Patel Road widening project has reached only 50% completion, with the shifting of high-tension power cables delaying work on the 1.85-km stretch between the Highway Research Station and Anna University.
The project began in December 2025 with a 12-month completion deadline, but officials told DT Next that the work has been delayed by about two months because power infrastructure along the road has not been fully shifted. The State Highways Department said the remaining work could be completed within two months after the cables are relocated.
Work between Anna University and Madhya Kailash has been completed. Widening near Gandhi Mandapam is progressing, while the stretch between the Cancer Institute and Guindy National Park is awaiting permission from the National Green Tribunal for tree cutting.
A senior State Highways Department official attributed the slowdown to rising bitumen prices following the West Asia conflict and a lack of support from Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited in moving the high-tension cables. The official said construction had progressed steadily before these constraints affected the project.
The pending power works include the shifting of a Ring Main Unit, or RMU. A TNPDCL official told DT Next that the RMU shifting was scheduled to begin on Saturday and would be completed within one to two days. Once the cable-related work is finished, the Highways Department plans to take up median alignment and installation of lights.
Other obstacles remain along the road. Arches erected for Gandhi Jayanthi and the death anniversary of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kamarajar on October 2 are yet to be removed. Officials said the structures would be cleared in the coming days, allowing roadwork in that section to resume.
Sardar Patel Road connects several important institutions and landmarks, including educational campuses, Guindy National Park, Gandhi Mandapam, the Kamarajar Memorial and Lok Bhavan. Residents said the slow pace of construction was worsening conditions on an arterial route that carries heavy traffic during peak hours.
Pushpa Raj, a resident of West Canal Bank Road in Kotturpuram, said traffic from Rajiv Gandhi Salai often builds up between the IIT Madras campus and the intersection of Gandhi Mandapam Road and Sardar Patel Road during the morning and evening peaks. Residents have urged officials to complete the work before the monsoon intensifies.
The State Highways Department said roadwork would resume in the affected sections after the cable shifting and removal of the arches, with the remaining project works targeted for completion within two months thereafter.
