CHENNAI: Amid the State Highways Department’s plan to widen the existing four-lane Sardar Patel Road into a six-lane corridor, regular users and activists have alleged that the width of the broad pavement between Anna University and Lok Bhavan has been reduced to accommodate a wider carriageway.
Highway officials, however, clarified that the pavement width would be maintained between one metre and 1.5 metres along the entire stretch after the completion of the project.
Pedestrians who regularly walk from Madhya Kailash to Lok Bhavan said that the ongoing widening work from IIT Madras to Chellammal College on GST Road has significantly narrowed the footpath. The Rs 48-crore project covers a 2.5-km stretch of Sardar Patel Road. The objective is to ease peak-hour congestion by upgrading the road from four lanes to six.
Sathish Kumar, a person with disability, criticised the move, calling the reduction of footpath space “condemnable and unacceptable. “There is no continuous footpath, especially between Gandhi Mandapam and Lok Bhavan. Several trees obstruct pedestrian movement,” the activist pointed out. “There is no space for wheelchair users, and pedestrians are forced to step onto the carriageway.”
Other regular users echoed the concern, with many sharing their difficulties on social media. J Sunil, a visitor to Gandhi Mandapam, said, “The footpath narrows sharply towards Lok Bhavan, where a large pit forces walkers either to jump across or walk on the road.”
An official with the State Highways Department said that in Phase I, the road would be widened by 3.5 metres along the IIT-M side till Lok Bhavan, while the opposite side would be widened by seven metres from CSIR to Highway Research Station. “To ensure pedestrian safety, especially for students, patients and visitors to memorials, pavements will be widened to one metre to 1.5 metres after the entire work is completed,” the official clarified.