To alleviate traffic bottlenecks along Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road, the state government has revived the eight-lane expansion project, allocating Rs 128 million to complete outstanding work on the Perungalathur flyover. As part of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Plan (CMDP), the highways department will widen the 1.5 km stretch under the flyover, including sections connecting its approach arms, to create a uniform eight-lane road. The project, which includes a fresh bituminous layer, is expected to be finished by mid-2025.

Currently, parts of this stretch remain only four lanes wide, leading to congestion, particularly during rainy weather, when water stagnation exacerbates delays. To tackle this, CMDP plans to install new drains and remove obstructions. New service roads along Gandhi Road in East Tambaram will also improve access to the Chennai-Trichy highway, which carries over 1.8 lakh vehicles daily.

The project further involves the completion of the flyover’s fourth arm, connecting to the Tambaram Eastern Bypass. This arm faced prolonged delays due to land acquisition issues with the forest department and electricity board, which were only resolved in July, allowing the tender to be issued last week.

Residents emphasise the need to complete this fourth arm to address the missing links in the Eastern Bypass Road. Tambaram resident and activist Dayanand Krishnan stated that the 850 m stretch connecting to Rajakilpakkam requires immediate attention. Once completed, heavy vehicles could be restricted to the widened section below, leaving access arms free for residents to reduce congestion on the flyover.

The flyover, under construction since 2010, currently operates with three arms: one linking to Srinivasa Raghava Nagar and two parallel to the national highway. The first of these arms opened in 2022, with the other two following in subsequent years.

However, residents remain cautious, expressing concern that unless bottlenecks at Irumbuliyur, located just a few hundred metres away, are addressed, the improvements may be limited. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had previously begun work on a vehicular underpass at Irumbuliyur but paused due to unresolved issues, resulting in further congestion.