Construction of the 3.2-km Teynampet-Saidapet four-lane elevated corridor above the Teynampet and Nandanam Metro stations is set to resume soon, with CMRL granting permission to the state highways department to carry out the work.
Deck slab work had been completed along 2.3 km, while construction above the two metro stations had remained stalled on Anna Salai for several months after minor variations were noticed in the original design. CMRL appointed a Japanese consultant to review the design, and following a joint study with the state highways, it was found there were no major flaws. The consultant recommended installing portal frames along a 300-metre stretch at 15-metre intervals above the two metro stations.
A senior highways official said steel piers are being erected for concrete deck slabs along the entire corridor, while portal frames will support the 300-metre stretch above the metro stations, with their legs positioned directly on the station walls located 14–15 metres below the road. The corridor is expected to be ready by March 2027.
Of the total 3.2-km stretch, 2.4 km passes directly above the metro tunnel, including a 460-metre section over the two stations. Around 50 of the planned 69 piers have been erected so far, with erecting the portal frames expected to take a minimum of three to four months. Labour shortages that had earlier affected prefabricated steel component manufacturing have been resolved, though construction remains limited to six hours daily.
The project, touted as the country’s first elevated corridor built directly above an operational metro tunnel, uses prefabricated steel components and carries an estimated cost of Rs 621 crore due to its engineering complexity. To avoid disturbing the metro tunnel running 14–15 metres beneath Anna Salai, the highways department drilled foundations only up to a depth of 7 metres from the road surface.
