CHENNAI: With eight-laning of the 13.5-km Guduvanchery-Chettipunyam section getting over recently, the traffic congestion on the busy GST Road has waned significantly. Regular commuters told TNIE that this Chennai-Tindivanam National Highway portion’s expansion has brought down travel time by 15-20 minutes during peak hours throughout the GST Road from Tambaram and Chengalpattu, except at Perungalathur and Tambaram junctions.
Converting the four-lane GST Road (Tambaram-Tiruchy NH) into an eight-lane thoroughfare was crucial to facilitate the proposed construction of an elevated corridor from Perungalathur to Chengalpattu. The work commenced in 2021, but it faced several delays owing to challenges in clearing encroachments on the NH service lane. The project was carried out by the NH wing of the state government on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The eight-laning project comprised the addition of two lanes on each side of the GST road by reducing the median width and merging the main carriageway with the service lane on both sides. Additionally, the construction of stormwater drains and enhancements to junctions from Tambaram to Chengalpattu were also taken up under this project.
The width of GST Road is 35-45 metres and carries about 1.5 lakh vehicles daily. An official said the land required to be acquired for the project was too minimal. “The existing two carriageways of the GST road were separated by a median ranging from 2.5-5 metres. We used this land to widen the road, accommodating over 20,000 vehicles on each side,” explained the official.
For the expansion of the GST Road from Vandalur to Chettipunniyam, the NHAI allocated Rs 275.17 crore to the government’s NH wing. During the first phase, the 5.3-km Vandalur-Guduvanchery stretch of the GST road was widened to six/eight lanes in 2021.
“The road alignment was slightly adjusted between Tambaram and Perungalathur to facilitate the ongoing construction of a road overbridge at Perungalathur. Once the ROB construction is complete, vehicular congestion on the GST road will reduce further,” an NHAI official said.
S Alex, an employee at Mahindra City, said, “Vehicular congestion beyond the Perungalathur junction has notably decreased in recent months. With clearly demarcated lanes, the widening project has cut the travel time by 15 to 20 minutes over the past two years.”