The long-awaited Velachery flyover—planned along the heavily congested Five-Furlong Road to ease travel from Guindy to Velachery—has been temporarily halted. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) informed the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) that the proposed flyover alignment clashes with the new metro corridor planned between Tambaram – Velachery – Guindy.
To avoid future demolition, CMRL has advised delaying civil works until they finalise exact station and pillar locations.
Flyover Blueprint: Entry, Pathway and End Location
The proposed Velachery flyover was designed to begin around 300 metres after the junction of Sardar Patel Road and Velachery Main Road, near the entry point to Five-Furlong Road. From there, it would run as a three-lane, 3-km elevated stretch, passing above the congested Race Course Road junction, before finally ending near the Velachery Bypass Road, close to the Phoenix Marketcity/Velachery MRTS region. This alignment was chosen to bypass the most traffic-heavy intersections and offer seamless movement between Guindy, Velachery, and the Bypass corridor.
Traffic Reality on Five-Furlong Road
Velachery’s Five-Furlong Road is one of Chennai’s worst peak-hour choke points.
Recent data shows:
- 7,400+ PCUs/hour near the Race Course Road junction
- 7,700+ PCUs/hour near Guru Nanak College
- Daily standstill traffic during office hours
Residents originally welcomed the flyover for its potential to decongest the stretch, especially for commuters connecting OMR, GST Road and Guindy.
PCU = Passenger Car Unit -(1 PCU = impact of one car on traffic flow.)
How the Metro Alignment Impacts the Flyover
A stretch of nearly 650 metres of the planned flyover coincides with the metro’s elevated viaduct path.
If GCC continues with construction now, a future overlap may force:
- Demolition of newly built flyover pillars
- Cost escalation
- Traffic chaos during rework
- Delayed metro commissioning
To prevent this, CMRL has requested a temporary pause while final alignment studies are completed.
Public Opinion
Public opinion is divided:
Supporters say:
- A flyover is essential to reduce signal delays
- Velachery’s traffic has outgrown the current road width
- Infrastructure must proceed without endless delays
Skeptics argue:
- Flyover may simply shift the bottleneck to the next junction
- Road widening and encroachment removal may be better
- Building now only to demolish later wastes taxpayer money
Most residents agree on one thing:
Metro + Flyover must be coordinated together, not fought against each other.
What Happens Next?
GCC has instructed its contractor to remain on standby.
CMRL has sought 1–2 months to confirm exact metro pillar positioning.
Once alignment is finalized, authorities will decide whether:
- The flyover needs redesign
- The project can proceed in parts
- Or the metro will completely replace the need for a flyover
Until then, Velachery’s traffic puzzle remains unsolved.