Thiruneermalai new toll plaza work to start soon
CHENNAI: To ease vehicular congestion and improve road safety, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to begin construction of a new toll plaza at Thiruneermalai, paving the way for the closure of the existing Vanagaram toll plaza on the Chennai Bypass. The NHAI also plans to start building a six-lane vehicular underpass at Vanagaram by February next year. The proposed underpass, extending 670 metres, will allow vehicles to take a U-turn, enabling traffic from Vadapalani to access Vanagaram smoothly. Once the underpass is completed, direct entry from the carriageway will be restricted. The Vanagaram toll plaza, operational since 2003, is being relocated to address severe congestion during peak hours. In June last year, Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan wrote to the union government urging relocation of the toll plaza, citing huge inconvenience to the public. Currently, vehicles from Porur and Vadapalani are forced to use service roads to make U-turns, leading to traffic bottlenecks and gridlock during peak hours. The situation is further aggravated by the halting of omni buses and government buses at the junction, resulting in long vehicle queues. As per official documents, the Vanagaram toll plaza will be shifted to Thiruneermalai. The new facility will feature 300-metre-long entry and exit ramps connecting to GST Road, which is expected to significantly reduce congestion in the area. The project, estimated at Rs 64 crore, forms part of NHAIs black spot rectification initiatives. These works also include the construction of a foot overbridge at Nolambur near the Decathlon junction. The vehicular underpass will permanently eliminate criss-cross movement between the main carriageway and service roads. Once it is operational, vehicles will no longer be allowed to enter directly from the carriageway, an NHAI official said. In addition, the project includes the construction of a 300-metre causeway across the Cooum River near Maduravoyal, along with junction improvement works at the Surapattu toll plaza. According to data presented in the Parliament, the NHAI collected `585 crore in toll revenue from the Vanagaram toll plaza between 2014-15 and 2023-24.
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