This article was first published in Citizen Matters on 25.09.2025
As a child growing up in Chennai, then called Madras, the two things that made me happiest were a trip to the beach and …wait for it…a ride over the Gemini Flyover. Yes, what seems mundane now was a magical experience in the 80s. Built in 1973, the Anna Flyover was Chennai’s first flyover and the longest in the country at the time of its construction. It remained the sole flyover till 1993 when nine more came up. Today, with over 42 flyovers and more in the pipeline, Chennai is often referred to as the “City of Flyovers.” Whether this moniker is complimentary or not is what this article will attempt to examine.
Why Flyovers?
In Chennai, flyovers were considered essential to handle the surge in vehicles. Consider this: in the 1970s, buses ruled the roads with a share of 42%. But by 2023, the share of buses had dropped to just 16%, while two-wheelers stood at 32% and cars at 27%.
You may then think the addition of so many flyovers is justified. But here’s the paradox: while only 6.5% of households own cars, over a quarter of road users are pedestrians, cyclists, or 2-wheeler users; a mismatch that needs to be addressed.
And what about buses? Surely, they can carry the majority. But we don’t have enough of them. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 60 buses are needed per lakh population. Chennai has just 32. Compare this with Singapore’s 83 and Hong Kong’s 112 per lakh. Not only are we failing our own benchmarks, but each year 1.8 lakh new cars and two-wheelers enter Chennai’s roads. With this growth, even ten more flyovers would not solve congestion.
The Case for Flyovers
To be fair, flyovers are built with some clear intentions. They handle a large number of vehicles and minimise congestion at busy intersections, providing continuous through-traffic flow therefore relieving pressure on intersections during rush hours.
But wait - don’t immediately applaud flyovers. There’s a principle in urban transport planning called induced demand. It means that when you expand road capacity, either by widening a road or building a flyover, more people start driving, filling up the new space, returning congestion faster than you'd expect.
Cities across the world have learned this lesson the hard way. Los Angeles, with its endless freeways, still struggles with gridlock despite decades of expansion. Closer home, Bengaluru’s elevated corridors and flyovers haven’t reduced traffic - they’ve merely encouraged more private vehicles. A travesty, despite the many humourous takes on it by urban critiques.
Chennai would do well to learn from these examples instead of going down the same road (or rather up the same flyover).
The Underbelly of Flyovers
For one, flyovers consume enormous amounts of land yet serve only motorized traffic. The space beneath them usually becomes a dead zone. In Chennai, the underbellies of flyovers are often dumping grounds for garbage, debris, and encroachments. They cut off sunlight, create unsafe pockets, and reduce usable space for pedestrians, cyclists, and even buses trying to navigate at ground level.
Instead of solving congestion, flyovers often shift it a few hundred meters down the road. The problem goes away only to pop up elsewhere. The worst part is that the congestion often shifts into the side lanes of neighbourhoods, causing crowded roads, air pollution and endangering residents.
Congestion on the flyover and the road below. Vehicles will move into side streets and cause congestion in residential areas as well. | CAG
Flyover on ECR
The Tamil Nadu government recently announced the construction of the state’s longest flyover, stretching from Thiruvanmiyur to Uthandi at a cost of ₹2,100 crore. Proponents argue it will decongest the East Coast Road (ECR), a busy corridor connecting the city to its southern suburbs and IT hubs.
ECR’s congestion stems not from lack of space for cars, but from lack of alternatives for everyone else. The stretch has poor public transport coverage, limited pavements, and no cycling infrastructure. Instead of a massive flyover that will mainly benefit car owners, the government would do better to invest in expanding higher frequency bus services along the ECR, on a dedicated bus lane that will keep passengers moving without being stuck in traffic. They could also invest in mini-buses and feeder services that connect neighbourhoods along the ECR to MRTS and Metro stations. The share autos along the ECR already do a yeoman service of ferrying people over short distances at a reasonable rate. They could be regularised and used as a formal last mile connectivity service. This, along with an expanded bus fleet could go a long way to solving congestion for all road users on the ECR and not just the cars.
Other cities have shown that this is possible. In Seoul, South Korea, a major elevated highway was demolished and replaced with a riverfront park. Traffic did not collapse as predicted, because people shifted to public transport. In Bogota, Colombia, the creation of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system transformed how people moved, demonstrating that buses can move more people at less cost than flyovers ever could.
Congestion on the flyover. Buses that transport more people are also stuck in the jam because there is no dedicated bus lane. On the other side, a bus travels smoothly - showing us the way forward | CAG
A better approach
Chennai once built flyovers as symbols of modernity. The Gemini Flyover was an engineering marvel of its time, but today - with 42 flyovers and counting, we must ask: are they solving congestion, or are they simply pandering to private car owners?
The truth is, we cannot solve congestion by building our way out of it. We need to be smarter about how we use our spaces. The only sustainable solution is to invest in efficient, affordable, and accessible public transport, supported by walkable streets and cycling networks. This tried and tested method is the only route out of this grid lock we find ourselves in.
Tamil Nadu’s own Climate Change Mission already recognises this. The policy highlights sustainable mobility as a key pathway to reducing emissions, with commitments to expand electric bus fleets and promote non-motorised transport. The recent rollout of 120 electric buses in Chennai and the plan for high-speed charging stations along highways shows that the state is already taking concrete steps in this direction. However, building more flyovers is taking two steps back and seems at odds with this positive course of action.
If Chennai aligns its transport priorities with these climate commitments, it can move from being the “City of Flyovers” to becoming a leader in climate-smart, people-centred mobility. Because the future of urban transport is not on flyovers, but in buses, metros, cycles, and safe streets for people; exactly the kind of mobility that Tamil Nadu’s climate policy envisions.
Instead of flyovers:
Expand and modernize the bus system by increasing fleet size, routes, and service frequency to make buses a reliable travel option for all.
Create dedicated bus lanes to keep buses moving quickly and consistently, free from traffic jams.
Prioritize safe walking and cycling by building continuous, well-designed infrastructure that supports the 15-minute city vision and eases congestion on neighbourhood streets.
Strengthen first- and last-mile connectivity by improving access to bus stops, metro, and MRTS stations through feeder services and safe pathways.
Adopt and enforce speed management measures at crash-prone and congestion-heavy locations to improve safety and traffic flow.
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