Tamil Nadu Plans Six-Lane Industrial Highway Linking Chennai To Vellore, To Streamline Port Freight Movement

The Tamil Nadu Highways Department has drawn up plans for a six-lane, access-controlled highway between Chennai and Vellore that will significantly cut travel time from Tambaram and other southern suburbs to Arcot and Vellore, reported The New Indian Express.

The proposed corridor, which will partly follow a greenfield alignment, is designed to link key industrial hubs, including the Oragadam industrial cluster, Cheyyar SIPCOT, and a new SIPCOT park to be developed along NH-38 in Vellore district.

Officials said the project will also streamline freight movement to Kattupalli and Ennore ports, reducing the load on the already congested Sriperumbudur–Vellore stretch of the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway.

Stretching across 135–142 km, the corridor will start at the under-construction Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) near Oragadam and end at NH38 in Vellore, passing via Cheyyar SIPCOT.

A 68 km section between Oragadam and Mangal Koot Road near Cheyyar is already under land acquisition.

“For the construction of the 68-km new highway from Oragadam to Cheyyar SIPCOT, land acquisition is in progress. A detailed report for OCIC development has been prepared, which also includes upgrading the existing state highways into four- and six-lane roads,” an official was quoted as saying.

The corridor will roughly trace the alignment of the shelved Chennai–Salem Expressway and will provide direct connectivity to Arcot, cutting detours for motorists from GST Road.

The Tamil Nadu Road Development Company has floated tenders for a feasibility study on extending the highway up to Vellore, with consultants tasked to assess whether an upgrade of the existing network or a fresh greenfield route would yield greater benefits.

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