Chennai Bypass
Chennai Bypass Expressway
Also known as Chennai Inner Bypass
33 km
Open
Tamil Nadu
Expressway
Route
Chennai Bypass runs 33 km from Irumbuliyur, Tamil Nadu to Kathirvedu, Tamil Nadu.
Crosses Tamil Nadu.
Through Irumbuliyur, Tambaram, Kovur, Ambattur and Kathirvedu.
Why it matters
Three national highways converge on Chennai, and before this road their freight met in the city centre. The bypass is the reason that traffic now stays on the edge of the city.
History
The Chennai Bypass was built so that traffic between the highways to Bengaluru, Tiruchirappalli and Kolkata would not have to drive through the middle of Chennai. It runs in an arc through the western suburbs from Tambaram in the south to Madhavaram in the north, linking the three big national highways that meet at the city. Long elevated sections carry it over the suburbs it passes.
Good to know
- Links the Chennai–Bengaluru, Chennai–Tiruchirappalli and Chennai–Kolkata highways without entering the city.
- Long stretches are elevated over the crowded western suburbs.
- It removed a large share of heavy truck traffic from Chennai's inner roads.
- A much bigger outer ring, the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road, is being built further out to do the same job again.
On the road
The quickest way around Chennai rather than through it. Traffic thickens near Poonamallee and Maduravoyal at rush hour.
More details
- Lanes
- 4–6 lanes, elevated in parts