Anna Salai formerly known as Mount Road, an abbreviated form of St. Thomas Mount Road, is an arterial road

Arterial road

An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...

 in Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George

Fort St George

Fort St George is the name of the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the Fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...

 and ends at the Kathipara Junction

Kathipara junction

Kathipara Junction is an important road junction in Chennai, India. It is located at Alandur, , south of Guindy, at the intersection of the Grand Southern Trunk Road , Inner Ring Road, Anna Salai and the Mount-Poonamallee Road...

 in Guindy

Guindy

Guindy is one of the important neighbourhoods of Chennai , Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the South-Western part of the city. It is the entry point or the gateway to Chennai city from the Southern parts of Tamil Nadu and the South Western suburbs of Chennai...

. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, the road branches into two, with one traversing westwards to Poonamallee

Poonamallee

Poonamallee is a town in the Poonamallee taluk of the Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu...

 to form the Mount-Poonamallee Road

Mount-Poonamallee Road

The St. Thomas Mount-Poonamallee Road, popularly known as the Mount-Poonamallee Road, is an arterial road in the city of Chennai, India. It runs for 11 kilometres from Kathipara Junction to the NH 4 highway connecting St. Thomas Mount with the suburb of Poonamallee...

 while the other continues southwards to Tambaram

Tambaram

Tambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is an urban node. Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway. The highway and the railway line from Chennai Egmore to...

 and beyond to form the national highway NH 45. The road was an indicator of development as the city of Chennai grew up mostly along its eastern and western sides.

Anna Salai is almost 400 years old and has its origins in a cart track which was used by the European employees of the British East India Company

British East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

 to travel from the factory at Fort St George

Fort St George

Fort St George is the name of the first English fortress in India, founded in 1639 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the Fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a no man's land...

 to the holy town of St Thomas Mount where the apostle St Thomas

Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...

 was crucified. The road, in its present form, took shape during the time of Charles MaCartney

Charles Macartney

Charles George "Charlie" Macartney was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests between 1907 and 1926...

 who served as Governor of Madras. Most of Chennai's business and corporate offices are located on Anna Salai.

There are several flyover projects under proposal along the stretch. However, many of them have currently been shelved owing to the construction of the Chennai Metro

Chennai Metro

The Chennai Metro is a rapid transit system in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The Phase I of the project consisting of two corridors is under construction. The elevated section of the project is scheduled to be operational by 2013 and the entire project is scheduled to be completed by the financial...

 Rail project, which runs along the median of the road.

The Stretch

Anna Salai starts from the Parktown

Parktown

Parktown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, the first suburb north of the inner-city. It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Parkwood, Westcliff, Parktown North, Parkhurst and Forest Town...

 area of Chennai city where Chennai Central

Chennai Central

Chennai Central , erstwhile Madras Central, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai . It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. The other major railway hub stations in the city are Chennai Egmore and Tambaram...

 railway terminus is situated. It, then, traverses the Island with its statue of Sir Thomas Munro to the other side of the Coovum before entering the neighbourhoods of Thousand Lights and Teynampet

Teynampet

Teynampet is one of the busiest commercial localities of the city of Chennai, India. Neighbouring localities include Alwarpet, T. Nagar, Nandanam, and Nungambakkam. Teynampet is along Anna Salai, the arterial road of Chennai...

. From Teynampet, it continues straight southwards to Nandanam

Nandanam

Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is a busy location and is home to many commercial institutions. This locality also offers a calm residential location...

 and Saidapet

Saidapet

Saidapet is an important neighbourhood in Chennai , India. The Saidapet Court, the only other court of judicature in Chennai city apart from the Madras High Court and the Saidapet bus depot are located here...

 before traversing the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge across the Adyar River

Adyar River

Adyar or Adayar, originating near the Chembarambakkam Lake in Chengalpattu district, is one of the two rivers which winds through Chennai , South India, and joins the Bay of Bengal at the Adyar Estuary. The 42.5 km-long river contributes to the estuarine ecosystem of Chennai. Despite the high...

 to Little Mount and finally, Guindy

Guindy

Guindy is one of the important neighbourhoods of Chennai , Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the South-Western part of the city. It is the entry point or the gateway to Chennai city from the Southern parts of Tamil Nadu and the South Western suburbs of Chennai...

. Anna Salai is maintained by the National Highways Authority of India

National Highways Authority of India

The National Highways Authority of India is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, responsible for management of a network of over 60,000 km of National Highways in India...

. This is the only road in Chennai where traffic follows the lane system. The road extends for a total of 11 kilometres and traverses the heart of the city.

Safety level

Anna Salai remains the road in the city experiencing second most number of accidents annually, next only to Jawaharlal Nehru Road (100 ft Inner Ring Road), with one person being injured every 1.13 days. Together, these roads account for almost 14 per cent of the 5,101 accidents that occurred in Chennai in 2010.

Landmarks on Anna Salai

• St. Thomas Mount
  St. Thomas Mount
  St. Thomas Mount, or Parangimalai is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Located near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport, St. Thomas Mount is associated with St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, who is believed to have been martyred here...
  
  
• Kathipara Cloverleaf Intersection
  Kathipara junction
  Kathipara Junction is an important road junction in Chennai, India. It is located at Alandur, , south of Guindy, at the intersection of the Grand Southern Trunk Road , Inner Ring Road, Anna Salai and the Mount-Poonamallee Road...
  
  
• Le Royal Meridien
  Le Royal Meridien, Chennai
  Le Royal Méridien Chennai is a five-star luxury hotel located at the Kathipara Junction on Anna Salai, Chennai, India. Initially built as Madras Hilton at an investment of 1,650 million, the hotel was, however, opened as Le Royal Meridien Chennai. The hotel is built on a 3.44 acres land with about...
  
  
• Hindustan Teleprinters Limited
• Intellectual Property India Headquarters
• Guindy Railway Overbridge
• Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL)
• SPIC Building
• Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
• ITC Grand Chola Hotel
• Ashok Leyland
  Ashok Leyland
  Ashok Leyland is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Chennai, India. Founded in 1948, the company is one of India's leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, as well as emergency and military vehicles. Operating six plants, Ashok Leyland also makes...
  
   Towers
• Little Mount
• Maraimalai Adigal Bridge
• Panagal Building
• Saidapet Teacher's Training Institute
• Cosmopolitan Club Golf Links
• YMCA
• Temple Towers
• Apollo Speciality Hospital
• Indian Oil Building
• Voltas
• Anna Arivaalayam (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam [DMK] Party Headquarters)
• Kalignar Satellite Television Headquarters
• Hyatt Regency
• Century Plaza
• Courtyard Marriott Hotel
• Kamaraj Memorial Hall
• Sterling Towers
• Semmozhi Poonga
  Semmozhi Poonga
  Semmozhi Poonga , literally translated to "Classical Language Park", is a botanical garden in Chennai set up by the horticulture department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The garden was opened on 24 November 2010 and is the first botanical garden of the city...
  
  
• Anna Flyover
  Anna Flyover
  Anna Flyover , lies in the heart of Chennai, India. Built by East Coast Construction and Industries in 1973, it was the first flyover in the country and in Chennai...
  
  
• Parsn Manare
• The Park Hotel
  The Park, Chennai
  The Park Chennai is a five-star deluxe hotel located at the Anna Flyover junction on the erstwhile Gemini Studios premises on Anna Salai, Chennai, India. The boutique hotel has 214 rooms, including 127 deluxe rooms, 31 luxury rooms, 41 residence rooms, 6 studio suites, 5 deluxe suites, 3 premier...
  
  
• Rani Seethai Hall
• American Consulate
• Oxford University Press
• Thousand Lights Mosque
• The British Council
• Devaneya Paavaanar Library
• Victoria Technical Institute
  Victoria Technical Institute
  Victoria Technical Institute is an institute established to commemorate the silver jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria. The institute promotes traditional handicrafts of South India.- History :...
  
  
• Indian Overseas Bank Headquarters
• Bharat Overseas Bank Headquarters
• Spencer Plaza
  Spencer Plaza
  Spencer Plaza, is a shopping mall located on Anna Salai, and is one of the landmarks of modern Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India. Reconstructed in 1985 on the site of a departmental store, it is the oldest shopping mall in India.-History:...
  
  
• Taj Connemara
  Taj Connemara
  Vivanta by Taj–Connemara, Chennai is a five-star hotel in Chennai, India. It is a heritage hotel built as the Imperial Hotel in 1854, renamed Albany in 1886, and re-established as The Connemara in 1890. It sported an art deco look when it was reopened in 1937...
  
  
• Taj Clubhouse Hotel
• Rayala Towers
• Raheja Towers
• Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Headquarters
• Gove House
• Higginbotham's
  Higginbotham's
  The Higginbotham's is an Indian company of book sellers and publishers based in the city of Chennai. The main bookstore at Mount Road, Chennai has the reputation of being India's oldest bookshop in existence.- History :...
  
   (India's oldest bookshop)
• Bharat Insurance Building
• Addison's
• LIC Building
  LIC Building
  LIC Building is a 14-storied skyscraper in Chennai, India, serving as the southern regional headquarters of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is the first skyscraper built in Chennai and a famous landmark in the city. Located on the arterial Anna Salai , the building is 177 feet tall...
  
   (Chennai's first skyscraper)
• Mount Road Mosque
• Tarapore Towers
• Cosmopolitan Club
• Mount Road Head Post Office
• Offices of The Hindu
  The Hindu
  The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
  
  and The Mail
• Devi Theater
• Simpsons
• Government Estate (Upcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly)
• Willington Bridge
• Madras Gymkhana Club
• Island Grounds Exhibition Centre

Statues on Anna Salai

• Nehru Statue (Kathipara Intersection)
• Maaveeran Dheeran Chinnamalai Statue (Guindy)
• Ramaswamy Padaiyaachiyaar (Guindy)
• Rajiv Gandhi Statue (Little Mount)
• Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Statue (Nandanam)
• Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan
  Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan
  Vallavarayan Vandiyadevan was a feudatory of the Chola kings Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I and chief of the Samanthas of North Arcot. He was married to Kundavai, the elder sister of Raja Raja I. The territory under his authority was known as Vallavaraiyarnadu...
  
  ' Statue - feudatory of the Chola kings (Gemini Flyover)
• MGR Statue (Spencer's Junction)
• Arignar Anna Statue (Wallajah Road Junction)
• Arthur Havelock
  Arthur Havelock
  Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE was a career British colonial governor, serving as Governor of Sierra Leone from 1880, of Natal, of Madras, of Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, and of Tasmania from 1901 to 1904....
  
  's Statue
• Lord Ampthill Statue
• Periyar Statue
• Kamaraj Statue (Island Ground)
• Munro Statue (Island Ground)