Tamil Nadu Plans 142-km Six-Lane Highway Linking Chennai and Vellore

02 Sep 2025 CW Team

The Tamil Nadu highways department has proposed a 135–142 km six-lane, access-controlled highway between Chennai and Vellore to improve industrial connectivity and ease traffic congestion.

The new corridor, partly on greenfield alignment, will connect Oragadam industrial hub, Cheyyar SIPCOT industrial park, and a proposed SIPCOT park along NH38 in Vellore district. It is aimed at strengthening freight movement to Kattupalli and Ennore ports while decongesting the Sriperumbudur–Vellore stretch of the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway.

According to officials, the highway will begin at the under-construction Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) near Oragadam and terminate at NH38 in Vellore via Cheyyar SIPCOT. A 68-km section linking Oragadam to Cheyyar is already under land acquisition. The project will broadly follow the alignment of the shelved Chennai–Salem Expressway.

The Tamil Nadu Road Development Company has invited tenders for a feasibility study on extending the Oragadam–Cheyyar Industrial Corridor up to NH38. The study will also assess whether to widen existing stretches or develop a new greenfield alignment between Cheyyar and Vellore.

Officials said the project will reduce travel time for commuters from GST Road to Arcot via Cheyyar and provide direct industrial connectivity to potential growth centres in Vellore district.

The initiative forms part of the state government’s push towards achieving a one-trillion-dollar economy by enhancing infrastructure for industrial and port-led growth.

News source: The New Indian Express

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