In a significant move to address increasing traffic congestion in the city, the Greater Chennai Corporation has announced plans to widen Kamaraj Salai, the road running along Marina Beach. The current four-lane road, which is 23 meters wide, will be expanded to an eight-lane stretch measuring 29 meters in width. The expansion will cover a 2.8 km stretch of the road.The project is aimed at easing traffic problems caused by the rapid growth in vehicle numbers, rising urban migration, and the establishment of new industries in Chennai. Officials believe the widened road will help improve traffic flow, especially during peak hours and weekends when Marina Beach sees heavy footfall.
As part of the plan, nine statues of important leaders located along Kamaraj Salai may be relocated to make way for the road expansion. The Corporation also plans to build dedicated footpaths and underpasses to manage the weekend rush near the beach.
Additional infrastructure work will be carried out at the junction of Kamaraj Salai and VP Raman Road. Both Dr. Radhakrishnan Road and the MRTS link street at this junction will be widened to further ease the flow of traffic.
The project also includes the development of a slip road on Sardar Patel Road. This road will run from IIT Chennai to the Gandhi Mandapam bus stand. The width of this stretch is set to increase from 26 meters to 40 meters. For this, land acquisition is expected from IIT Chennai, Anna University, and the area around Gandhi Mandapam.
City officials hope that these expansion projects will lead to a significant reduction in traffic congestion and improve overall road safety and connectivity in the affected areas.