Overview
Thiru Vi Ka Salai, or the Thiru Vi Ka High Road, is one of the main streets in the downtown region of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Running from north to south, the street branches off of the arterial Anna Salai north of the LIC Building The street includes three individual stretches formerly known as General Patters Road, Westcott Road and Royapettah High Road, respectively. The longest stretch, formerly known as the Royapettah High Road, runs to a length of . The presence of numerous automobile dealers on the northern end of the street resulted in Chennai coming to be known as The Detroit of India.
History
The original Woodlands Hotel was located on Royapettah High Road, whose garden space is presently occupied by a namesake cinema complex. The old tile-roofed house was later demolished to make way for a memorial for Potti Sriramulu.
The street
Thiru Vi Ka Salai is connected with Anna Salai at the northern end. The northernmost stretch branching off Anna Salai on its eastern side and abutting the Express Estate was formerly known as General Patters Road, running to a length of 0.97 km. From then on, the street was known as the Royapettah High Road. The street also has a flyover that connects the neighbourhoods of Royapettah and Mylapore. The southern end of the street is connected to the Kutchery Road at the Luz Corner Junction. Railway stations that are connected to the main street are the Thirumayilai railway station and the Mundagakanniamman Koil railway station of the Chennai MRTS, both near the southern end of the street. The Royapettah underground station of the Chennai Metro is under construction near the Government Royapettah Hospital at the northern side of the street.
Traffic junction
The five-road junction near the northern end of the Royapettah flyover, connecting Avvai Shanmugam Salai and Masilamani Street with the Royapettah High Road stretch of the Thiru Vi Ka Salai is a critical traffic junction on the street. The junction is one of the busiest in South Chennai owing to various factors such as being a bus route and the presence of several commercial establishments, headquarters of political parties, auto-gas filling stations, and a residential area.
Major landmarks and memorials
The city's largest peripheral hospital, the 712-bed Government Royapettah Hospital, is located on the northern part of the street. Other important landmarks on the street include Sathyamurthi Bhavan (the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee), the historic Royapettah Police Station, Provident Fund office, Madras Sanskrit College, Valluvar Statue, and the Luz Anjaneya Temple. The house where Potti Sriramulu fasted to death now stands as the Potti Sreeramulu Memorial Building, which promotes arts and culture and also houses a Telugu library.
Development
Royapettah High Road is one of the major roads that are being developed under the phase I of the Mega Streets Project. In 2016, the Greater Chennai Corporation sent a proposal to the Tamil Nadu government on widening the road and began the work on preparation of land plan schedule.
See also
* Transport in Chennai