Chennai’s Mahindra City-Kilambakkam elevated road designed for future Metro

A proposed 23-km six-lane elevated corridor between Mahindra City and Kilambakkam is being designed with provisions for a future Metro line, as part of a wider plan to address Chennai’s long-term traffic requirements.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct the elevated road first, with the future Metro corridor planned above it.

The road project will also have a toll plaza.

Under the proposed design, NHAI will construct the central pillars required for the future Metro corridor along with the elevated road. This will include the necessary piers and pier caps.

The Metro infrastructure agency would subsequently install the girders, tracks and electrification needed for rail operations, reported The Times of India.

The approach is intended to avoid having to build an entirely separate elevated structure later if the Metro corridor is taken up.

The road is being planned as a long-term solution for traffic entering Chennai. NHAI expects the proposed road widening and associated infrastructure to cater to the city’s entry traffic for the next 30 years.

The Mahindra City-Kilambakkam corridor is part of a larger road infrastructure plan covering routes towards Chennai from southern and western districts.

The wider plan also includes a proposed 15-km greenfield expressway from Pakkam village to Paranur. The route will connect with the Kancheepuram-Chengalpet highway junction, pass through Uthiramerur and cross the Palar river.

In addition, a 68-km stretch between Chengalpet and Tindivanam has been proposed for widening into a 10-lane corridor. That proposal is awaiting environmental clearance because of hillock areas after Paranur.

Together, the elevated corridor, greenfield expressway and highway widening are part of a broader attempt to increase road capacity around Chennai and prepare for future traffic demand.

The Metro-ready design of the Mahindra City-Kilambakkam elevated road also leaves open the possibility of layering rail infrastructure onto the road corridor at a later stage, without requiring a separate elevated structure for the Metro from the outset.