Kanchipuram-Vandavasi Road Widening Underway to Ease Freight Traffic to Chennai Port

The widening of the Kanchipuram-Vandavasi Road into a four-lane corridor is progressing under the Chief Minister's Road Development Plan (CMRDP) to boost industrial connectivity and ease freight movement toward Chennai port. The project will connect to the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) at Manampathi, facilitating smoother transit from major industrial complexes around Cheyyar and Vembakkam SIPCOT.

Industrial operations at the Cheyyar and Vembakkam SIPCOT estates have faced delays in raw material deliveries and finished goods transport due to severe traffic congestion on the existing stretch. The corridor has also witnessed frequent road accidents, causing transit delays for industrial workers. Industrialists and local residents had repeatedly petitioned for the expansion to four lanes to address these bottlenecks and improve road safety.

The road widening project is being executed in four phases. The first phase covers a nine-kilometre stretch from Mangal to Manampathi junctions at an estimated cost of Rs 78 crore. Work in this phase involves widening the existing two-lane carriageway, reconstructing and widening culverts according to site requirements, and building stormwater drains in residential stretches to prevent waterlogging during the monsoon.

The second phase encompasses a 72-kilometre stretch from Manampathi near Cheyyar SIPCOT to Tiruvannamalai. The government has initiated land acquisition and design updates for this section. Although the expansion was initially planned only up to Vandavasi, the route was later extended to Tiruvannamalai to integrate the corridor into a larger economic network. Connecting the Cheyyar corridor with Oragadam will link Chennai's surrounding manufacturing hubs with Cheyyar SIPCOT.

The state government has issued orders to acquire approximately 307 acres of land across 34 villages, comprising 14 villages in Vandavasi, seven in Cheyyar, eight in Keezh Pennathur, and five in Tiruvannamalai. Primary construction tenders will be invited after local revenue officials complete land valuation procedures. The upgraded section will feature centre medians, bus lay-by zones, and drainage systems.

To resolve congestion at the entry of the corridor, a new high-level flyover has been planned near the existing Sevilimedu bridge on the Kanchipuram-Vandavasi Road, with completion targeted for 2028. Once fully upgraded, the corridor will serve as a high-speed feeder route linking Tiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, and surrounding industrial hubs to the port.