Only 50% works completed: Shifting of power cables delays widening of Sardar Patel Road

CHENNAI: The State Highways Department’s Rs 48-crore project to widen Sardar Patel Road from Highway Research Station to Anna University has reached 50% completion, with the shifting of high-tension cables emerging as a key reason for the delay.

The 1.85-km widening project, which commenced in December 2025 with a 12-month completion deadline, has been delayed by about two months due to the pending shifting of HT cables along the stretch.

Officials said that the remaining works could be completed within two months once the cables are shifted. “Since the beginning of the work, progress was steady until the West Asia conflict. Rising bitumen prices and a lack of support from Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) in shifting the power cables have slowed down progress,” said a senior official at the State Highways department.

The widening work between Anna University and Madhya Kailash has been completed. Permission has been sought from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for cutting trees in Guindy Nation Park to widen the stretch between the Cancer Institute and the Park, while widening work near Gandhi Mandapam is progressing.

Meanwhile, arches built for Gandhi Jayanthi and Kamarajar’s death anniversary on October 2 are yet to be removed. Officials said that the structures would be cleared in the coming days, allowing roadwork in the stretch to resume.

“After the cable-shifting work is finished, we’ll take up the alignment of the median along with the lights. We’re working to complete the project as early as possible,” the official said.

A TNPDCL official told DT Next that the shifting of the Ring Main Unit (RMU) is scheduled for Saturday. “The shifting will be taken up tomorrow and the work will be completed in 1-2 days,” the official said.

Residents, however, expressed concern over the slow progress on the arterial road, which serves several important institutions and landmarks, including educational institutions, Guindy National Park, Gandhi Mandapam, the Kamarajar Memorial and Lok Bhavan. “The progress is barely noticeable, yet hundreds of vehicles pass through here during peak hours. In the morning and evening, traffic from Rajiv Gandhi Salai piles up from the IIT Madras campus to the intersection of Gandhi Mandapam Road and Sardar Patel Road. With the monsoon around the corner, we urge officials to complete the work on time,” said Pushpa Raj, a resident of West Canal Bank Road in Kotturpuram.