CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is planning to develop an approximately 140-km greenfield expressway between Chennai (Oragadam) and Tiruvannamalai via Cheyyar, following the alignment of the shelved Chennai-Salem expressway project. The move has effectively revived the possibility of implementing the earlier Salem expressway proposal, which was officially dropped in 2022, now in multiple phases.
If the proposal materialises as planned, travel time from Chennai to Tiruvannamalai will be substantially reduced from about four hours to roughly two hours. The project is also expected to significantly cut freight travel time from SIPCOT and other industrial belts in Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram districts to Kattupalli Port and Ennore Port. Additionally, it will significantly boost tourism to Tiruvannamalai, which has steadily emerged as a major pilgrimage town attracting lakhs of devotees from Chennai and elsewhere in recent years.
The proposed six-lane, access-controlled highway will originate at the under-construction Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) near Oragadam and extend up to Tiruvannamalai via Cheyyar SIPCOT and Desur, according to official sources. The project will be implemented by the Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority.
In the first phase, a 68-km stretch from Oragadam to Cheyyar SIPCOT will be taken up, while the second phase will cover the remaining approximately 72-km stretch from Manampathi (Cheyyar SIPCOT) to Tiruvannamalai.
“Land acquisition for the 68-km Oragadam-Cheyyar stretch is already in an advanced stage. Once the acquisition is completed, the tendering process will commence, which may take another two to three months. For Phase II, administrative approval for land acquisition is still awaited,” a state highways official said.
The proposed Oragadam-Cheyyar highway will run from the CPRR at Oragadam to Mangal Koot Road near Cheyyar SIPCOT. From Cheyyar SIPCOT, the corridor will further extend to Tiruvannamalai, passing through 34 villages in Tiruvannamalai district.
In a recent order, the Tiruvannamalai collector directed revenue officials to comprehensively assess the total compensation payable for land acquisition from Manampathi to Tiruvannamalai via Desur. Approximately 307.95 acres of land will be acquired from seven villages in Cheyyar taluk, 14 villages in Vandavasi taluk, eight villages in Keezhpennathur taluk and five villages in Tiruvannamalai taluk.
“Earlier, there was a consideration to extend the Cheyyar industrial corridor up to Vellore, but it was later revised to extend it instead to Tiruvannamalai,” a source added.
The CPRR starts at Ennore Port and ends at Poonjeri near Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road, passing through Thatchur, Tiruvallur Bypass, Sriperumbudur and SP Koil.