The restored Kamarajar Salai near the bus terminus in Arcot town, off Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), was opened for public use on Friday.

Officials of Arcot municipality, which will maintain the stretch, said that the new stretch will be safer for motorists, especially senior citizens and women as only light vehicles like two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, and cars were allowed to use the restored stretch to prevent accidents on the route. “The restored Kamarajar Salai will provide more road space for two-wheelers and pedestrians. Commuters can also safely cross the stretch to board buses at the terminus,” said K. Padma, a commuter.

Minister for Handlooms and Textiles and Ranipet MLA R. Gandhi inaugurated the restored stretch in the presence of Collector J.U. Chandrakala. Funded under the Capital Grant Fund (CGF) 2024-25, the new 195 metre-long-stretch has a seven-metre-wide carriageway, 1.2-metre-wide median, footpath, LED streetlights, and high mast lamps. The entire work costs ₹9.65 crore. 

As per estimates, more than 4,000 vehicles pass through the stretch, which connects surrounding villages with central parts of Arcot town.

Municipal officials said that a key feature of the restoration of the stretch was an increase in its total height by two feet to the existing level of stormwater drains, to prevent inundation of the carriageway.

Earlier, the stretch got flooded during monsoon as it remained a few feet below the storm water drain. Civic officials had to pump water from the stretch, using diesel-run motors.

With the opening of the new Bypass Road near Arcot town, trucks and lorries skip the restored Kamarajar Salai to go to neighbouring districts like Tiruvannamalai, Kallakuruchi, Kancheepuram, and Tirupattur. As a result, municipal officials said that the restored stretch will be used mainly by local motorists and pedestrians.