RooseveltMacCull at 05:23, 9 March 2026

2026-03-09T05:23:40Z

New page

{{Short description|Bridge in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox road junction
|country=IND
|road_type=
|name=Anna Flyover
|image=Gemini Flyover-Mount road-Chennai.jpg
|image_caption=Anna flyover
|other_names=
|location= [[Chennai]], India
|coord= {{coord|13.05238|N|80.25104|E|display=inline,title|type:landmark}}
|roads= [[Anna Salai|Mount Road]]<br/>Nungambakkam High Road<br/>Cathedral Road
|type= [[Overpass|Flyover]]
|spans=
|lanes= 2
|const=1973
|contractor= East Coast Construction and Industries
|opened= {{start date|1973}}
|height= {{convert|4.3|m|ft}}
|width={{convert|20|m|ft}}
|maint=
|tolls=
|map=
}}

'''Anna Flyover''', also known as '''Gemini Flyover''', is a dual-armed [[grade separator]] in the central business district of [[Chennai]], India. Built in 1973, it is the first flyover in Chennai<ref>{{cite web
|title=History of Chennai
|publisher=ChennaiBest.com
|url=http://www.chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/sightseeing/history/1951.asp
|access-date=16 Jan 2012
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205062627/http://www.chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/sightseeing/history/1951.asp
|archive-date=2012-02-05
}}</ref><ref name="JunctionSetForChange">{{cite news
| last = Sreevatsan
| first = Ajai
| title = Junction beneath flyover set for change
| newspaper = The Hindu
| location = Chennai
| date = 19 July 2010
| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article522283.ece
| access-date = 15 January 2012}}</ref> and the third in India. It was the longest flyover in the country at its completion.<ref name="FlyoverWallMended">{{cite news
| last = Ramakrishnan
| first = Deepa H.
| title = Flyover wall mended after 3 days
| newspaper = The Hindu
| location = Chennai
| date = 1 July 2012
| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3589297.ece
| access-date = 5 Jul 2012}}</ref> It allows traffic movements on [[Anna Salai]] (formerly Mount Road) to cross traffic with grade separation. The area and the flyover is named after the now-demolished [[Gemini Studios]].

On two sides of the circle roundabout below the centre of the flyover are two identical statues that commemorate the banning of [[horse racing]] in [[Tamil Nadu]].

==History and design==
Anna flyover was constructed in 1973 by East Coast Construction and Industries in 21 months at a cost of {{INR}} 6.6 million and was opened to traffic on 1 July 1973. The architects of the flyover had made provision for its extension, if necessary, on either side. Its design has remained nearly identical since the 1970s.<ref name="FlyoverWallMended"/> The flyover is 500 m long.<ref>{{cite news
|title=புதிய வர்ணம் பூசி அண்ணா மேம்பாலம் அழகுபடுத்தப்படுகிறது: நெடுஞ்சாலைத்துறை ஏற்பாடு
|newspaper=Maalaimalar
|location=Chennai
|language=ta
|date=21 August 2013
|url=http://www.maalaimalar.com/2013/08/21154420/Garnished-with-fresh-painted-A.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823105008/http://www.maalaimalar.com/2013/08/21154420/Garnished-with-fresh-painted-A.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=23 August 2013
|access-date=13 Sep 2013
}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
[[File:Equestrian Statue Anna Salai Chennai.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Equestrian statue on the [[Nungambakkam]] side of Anna flyover]] This Equestrian horse statue was sculpted by the M. N. Jayaram Nagappa son of sculptor [[M. S. Nagappa|Rao Bahadur M. S. Nagappa]] and brother of [[Mani Nagappa|M. N. Mani Nagappa]], who is also a sculptor.

Notable landmarks abutting the Anna Flyover include the old [[Safire Theatre complex]], the [[Oxford University Press]] and the [[Consulate General of the United States, Chennai|U.S. Consulate]].

Gemini studio has been demolished and a shopping complex called Parson Manor and a 5-star deluxe hotel called [[The Park, Chennai|The Park]] have been built in its place. Opposite to these across the flyover lies the [[Semmozhi Poonga]], the 20-acre, {{INR}} 80-million botanical garden constructed by the horticultural department.

==Traffic==
In the 1970s, over 9,000 vehicles crossed the junction during peak hour. By the 2010s, the stretch between [[Parry's Corner]] and [[Nandanam]] was used by over 16,000 vehicles during rush hour. Anna Salai is used by over 0.183 million vehicles every day.<ref name="FlyoverWallMended"/>

An average of 20,000 vehicles per hour pass through the intersection beneath the flyover.<ref name="JunctionSetForChange"/>

==Developments==
The government had plans to lease out the area under the flyover to a restaurant, a shopping centre, godowns and a parking lot, and for advertising.<ref name="FlyoverWallMended"/>

A preliminary study by Chennai City Connect, an NGO working on improving traffic and transport conditions in Chennai, found that the Gemini Circle intersection costs the city {{INR}} 270,000 a day in [[petrol]], [[human capital]] and ecological loss.<ref name="JunctionSetForChange"/><ref>{{cite web
| last = Robinson
| first = Daniel
| title = Ever realise this about Anna Flyover?
| publisher = Chennai City Connect
| date = 17 May 2010
| url = http://chennaicityconnect.com/featured/gemini-flyover/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100622050606/http://chennaicityconnect.com/featured/gemini-flyover/
| url-status = usurped
| archive-date = 22 June 2010
| access-date = 15 January 2012}}</ref> There are plans to build a flyover on top of the existing flyover.<ref name="JunctionSetForChange"/> A short-term plan at a cost of {{INR}} 9 million has also been planned.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Hemalatha
| first = Karthikeyan
| title = Gemini Junction may be redesigned to redirect traffic
| location = Chennai
| date = 7 September 2011
| url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-07/chennai/30122711_1_traffic-islands-traffic-police-g-n-chetty-road
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111107000706/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-07/chennai/30122711_1_traffic-islands-traffic-police-g-n-chetty-road
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 7 November 2011
| newspaper = [[The Times of India]]
| access-date = 15 January 2012}}</ref>

Anna Flyover is now maintained by Aircel Cellular as a part of corporate social responsibility, which has implemented LED lighting accentuating the parapets of the flyover. LED lighting to beautify a public structure has been implemented for the first time in India by city-based Abra Media Networks; TNRIDC, a division of Highways, has awarded the contract to Aircel starting from July 2010.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

==Accidents and incidents==
In January 1998, a small bomb was detonated under the flyover near the American consulate building.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)
| title = India 2012 OSAC Crime and Safety Report: Chennai
| publisher = U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security
| date = 5 April 2012
| url = https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12324
| access-date = 31 Jul 2012}}</ref>

On 27 June 2012, over 40 people were injured when a [[Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai)|Metropolitan Transport Corporation]] bus overturned while negotiating a curve and fell from the flyover<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-27/chennai/32440298_1_bus-conductor-driver-first-flyover | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705040649/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-27/chennai/32440298_1_bus-conductor-driver-first-flyover | url-status=dead | archive-date=5 July 2012 | title=Over 30 injured as bus falls off flyover in Chennai|date=27 June 2012| work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=27 Jun 2012}}</ref> from a height of 20 ft.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Driver of bus that fell off Anna flyover dismissed by MTC
| location = Chennai
| date = 25 October 2012
| url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Driver-of-bus-that-fell-off-Anna-flyover-dismissed-by-MTC/articleshow/16947389.cms
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131208001455/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-25/chennai/34728792_1_mtc-drivers-mtc-buses-flyover
| url-status = live
| archive-date = 8 December 2013
| newspaper = [[The Times of India]]
| access-date = 25 Oct 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Flyovers in Chennai]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Bridges in Chennai}}
{{Chennai topics|left}}
{{Transport in Chennai}}

[[Category:Bridges completed in 1973]]
[[Category:Road interchanges in India]]
[[Category:Bridges and flyovers in Chennai]]
[[Category:Memorials to C. N. Annadurai]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in India]]

Anna Flyover - Revision history

RooseveltMacCull at 05:23, 9 March 2026