New date for Chennai-Tirupati NH widening project

Sources in the NHAI said that there are still problems in land acquisition for the widening of the national highway. | Photo credit: Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

The widening of the Chennai Tirupathi controlled access State Highway 716 is expected to be completed by March 2027, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) setting a new date for the completion of the project.

Sources in the NHAI said land acquisition issues are still plaguing the project, especially where nearly 600 meters of service road is yet to be completed. Several temples that fell along the brownfield road were either moved or demolished to be rebuilt elsewhere. This led to protests. In some cases, only small parts of the temple property were taken on the journey.

“We have completed over 40% of the work and the main road is operational in many places. The previous deadline was the end of this year. The contractor showed slow progress due to high asphalt prices. But that has been resolved,” said an official source.

Former MLA ESS Raman said there is a need to speed up the project to ensure the safety of road users. “As it is an existing road that is being widened, thousands of people working in industries, companies and educational institutions from Padi to Thiruninravur, Kakkalur take this route. They ride on two-wheelers. Since the main road is smooth, people speed up and accidents happen. If service lanes are completed, smaller vehicles will take them to avoid accidents,” he said.

The expansion begins a little after Thiruninravur near Veppampattu. “Four lanes were completed till Tiruvallur. We didn’t see service lanes at many places. But after that work is still going on. There is no BT layer at some places, just rough surfaces. The width of the road is only two lanes, which leads to slow traffic. You can’t drive smoothly. You have to switch between lanes and sides all the time. There aren’t enough boards to indicate the nearby town.”

Published – 11 Jun 2026 23:32 IST