Chennai Gets Third Expressway, This Time To Chittoor, To Connect Kattupalli And Ennore Ports

Even as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is going ahead with two expressways connecting Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai with Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka and Salem in the western part of the state, it has announced proposals for another one, this time connecting Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, the six-lane greenfield highway will cover 126 km with 83 km in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and 43 km in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. Official documents list the highway as National Highway 716B (NH 716B), a spur of NH 716 (formerly NH 205) connecting Renigunta at the Tirupati foothills to Chennai.

According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the expressway will connect the Kamarajar Port in Ennore and Adani’s port in Kattupalli located north of it under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The eastern terminus will coincide with the upcoming Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway. The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 3,197.56 crore, and will require 885.5 hectares of land – 526 in Andhra Pradesh and 360.5 in Tamil Nadu. Around 15 per cent of the land along the alignment is barren, 10 per cent forested while the remaining will pass through farmland.

While documents show that 32 hectares of farmland will also be required, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be carried out to create a tree inventory to assess how many trees will require to be cut. The expressway will be a part of the Chennai-Kurnool Economic Corridor.