CHENNAI: The Rs 262-crore Perungalathur road overbridge (ROB) has finally been fully opened to traffic after nearly 26 years, with the eastern arm connecting Sadanandapuram and Nedunkundram opened without a formal announcement on Sunday.
While it has improved connectivity and brought relief to motorists, the absence of streetlights and congestion on the narrow exit road have raised safety concerns.
On Sunday evening, workers removed barricades at the eastern end, allowing vehicles to use the Nedunkundram route. Unlike the other three arms of the ROB, the newly opened stretch has no functioning streetlights, leaving motorists to navigate it in darkness.
Mahendra Boopathi, president, Perungalathur Peerkankaranai Residents Welfare Association, said, “Travelling along this road in darkness without streetlights is not safe. Crocodiles, Indian rock pythons and cobras have been spotted in Sadanandapuram and Nedunkundram. Forest department personnel have captured the animals on several occasions.”
He added that the road connecting the ROB to the Sadanandapuram-Nedunkundram stretch remained narrow because the required forest land had not been fully acquired, causing congestion near the exit. Proper service roads were also yet to be provided. “The
Highways and Forest departments must coordinate to resolve these issues and ensure the stretch is safe for motorists,” he added.
The ROB was conceived to ease congestion on the Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway near railway level crossing LC 32, close to Perungalathur railway station. The Highways department and railway administration had wanted to permanently close the crossing and build an ROB with a roundabout.
An initial allocation of Rs 86 crore was made in 2000, but progress remained slow. The railway administration permanently closed LC 32 in 2015 and began other related works.
The project was revised in 2018, with the estimated cost rising to Rs 235 crore. Land acquisition disputes and the COVID lockdown further delayed construction.
Work gathered pace in 2021 on an ROB featuring an oval-shaped roundabout connecting Perungalathur, Peerkankaranai, Sadanandapuram, Nedunkundram, Vandalur and Tambaram.
The first arm was opened to oneway traffic in September 2022, followed by the section crossing the railway tracks and connecting Perungalathur to Kamaraj High Road in June 2023. The third arm, on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu route, opened on August 1, 2024.
The eastern arm was delayed by the relocation of an electricity substation and the need for forest clearance. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) was allotted land at Netaji Nagar in New Perungalathur for a new substation, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) funding its construction. After the existing facility was relocated, the final arm was completed and opened to traffic on Sunday.