The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) will conduct a topographic survey of 4.55 km of roads in Chengalpattu to prepare a road-space allocation plan and support designs aimed at improving traffic movement. The survey will document road geometry, drainage infrastructure, buildings and roadside features before detailed engineering work is planned.
The survey will cover three stretches: 1.9 km of State Highway Urban Stretch Six, or SHU 6, passing through Sadras, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Arakkonam and Tiruttani Road; 2.3 km of Chengalpattu Main Road; and 350 metres of PV Kalathur Road, according to CUMTA.
The authority’s document states that the survey will map carriageways, medians, footpaths, cycle tracks, junctions, bus stops, bridges and culverts. It will also record the boundaries and entrances of buildings adjoining the roads, allowing planners to understand how properties connect to the road network and how available space can be allocated.
Drainage and flood-related features will form part of the exercise. Survey teams will identify stormwater drains, manholes, drainage outlets and flood-prone locations, along with streetlights, utility poles, signboards and other roadside infrastructure. The information is intended to help ensure that proposed traffic-management measures account for both movement and the physical systems supporting the roads.
Buildings and access points will be measured as part of the survey. This is relevant to the preparation of a road-space plan because changes to carriageways, footpaths, junctions or other facilities can affect property entrances and local access. CUMTA’s exercise will therefore create a detailed record of the relationship between the road corridor and adjoining built-up areas.
Survey teams will measure road levels and cross-sections, generally at intervals of 20 metres. Additional measurements will be taken at curves and at locations where ground levels change sharply. The survey will also extend at least 50 metres along roads joining the identified stretches, according to the document.
Topographic surveys provide the base information needed before road improvements are designed in detail. By recording levels, widths, junction conditions, drainage assets and roadside structures, the exercise is expected to give engineers a common physical reference for preparing traffic-management proposals. CUMTA said the topographic data and drawings would provide the groundwork for detailed engineering designs.
The proposed Road Space Allocation Plan will determine how the surveyed corridors can be organised for different users and functions. The available information does not specify the final road designs, construction schedule, cost or whether particular stretches will receive new footpaths, cycle tracks, junction changes or drainage works. Those decisions are expected to follow the survey and subsequent engineering preparation.
The survey places Chengalpattu’s traffic challenges within a wider metropolitan transport-planning process. Rather than examining only vehicle carriageways, the exercise will document the full road edge, including pedestrian facilities, public transport stops, drainage systems, utilities and building access. The next formal step identified by CUMTA is the use of the survey findings to prepare the road-space allocation plan and detailed designs for proposed traffic-management measures.
